


Shoot To Kill

by ssamandiriel



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Gen, Zombie AU, attempted suicide, it's briefly mentioned and unsuccessful but i thought i would mention it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-10-21
Packaged: 2018-02-13 06:51:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2141232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssamandiriel/pseuds/ssamandiriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world had turned to shit exactly four days, three hours and seventeen seconds ago.</p><p>At least that's what Clear had calculated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Separation

**Author's Note:**

> this was alternatively titled "obligatory dmmd zombie au" but i decided to change it at the last second.
> 
> oh also when you're finished reading please make sure to read the notes at the end because i'm going to need all of the readers help with finishing this fic!
> 
> enjoy!

The world had turned to shit exactly four days, three hours and seventeen seconds ago.

At least that's what Clear had calculated.

No one actually knows when the first zombie showed up, Clear guesses it was at least one day before all of Japan was affected by the virus, all anyone knows is when it started to become a bigger problem.

Mizuki's bar had become the safest place for the group of unlikely acquaintances, sort of like safe houses you usually see in fictional things like movies and video games.

They were all lucky they actually knew how to defend themselves against the zombies, unlike the people in said fictional stories, or else they wouldn't have all made it to Mizuki's bar.

Mizuki had suggested they all come to his bar because it was probably the safest building between all of them, what with the steel fence he uses to lock up his bar at night. He's kind of paranoid about his ink and alcohol. Everyone agreed and all found their own ways of getting through the horde of undead outside.

Koujaku had used his sword to slice off more than a few of the zombie's heads, Clear had avoided them all together by taking the roofs instead of the streets, Aoba and Sei had barely made it to the bar in one piece and Mizuki could tell the twins were both close to breaking down, Mink used an axe to chop his way through the horde, and Mizuki wasn't quite sure how Noiz made it here but he wasn't bitten so he wasn't really all that worried about it.

“Don't mind the mess.” Mizuki says as Noiz kicks a few beer cans out of the way. “I would've cleaned up a little if I wasn't worried about dying.”

“Mizuki, the mess is the last thing on our minds.” Aoba states. A small smile makes it's way to Mizuki's face when he notices Aoba and Sei sitting on the couch together and Aoba rubbing his hand up and down Sei's back to calm him down.

“So, what's the plan now?” Koujaku asks, sitting down on one of the bar stools. Noiz and Mink sit on the two remaining stools while Clear just walks around the bar, looking at the plastic skulls Mizuki has on a high shelf, and then moving to mess with his typewriter.

Mizuki sighs. “Try not to die?”

“Mizuki!” Aoba yells. Sei flinches and Mizuki goes to apologize when Noiz interrupts.

“It says here that the United States and Canada have just been confirmed to be overrun with the undead, too.” Noiz reads something on his Coil and everyone looks down at their own Coils, confused.

“Hey, how are you able to read that? Koujaku asks, raising up his Coil. “There's no signal.”

Noiz just shrugs. “I have my ways.”

“Anyways, back to the matter at hand, what are we going to do? We can't just stay here for the rest of our lives.”

“Uh, Master?” Clear starts. “I think-.”

“Not now Clear, we need to figure this out.” Aoba ignores.

“But, Master, this is important- look out!” Clear yells.

And them time seems to slow down as one, then two, and then three, zombies break down the metal fence and limp into the bar, growling.

Time starts to go faster than normal when Clear grabs Aoba and Sei, picking them up and escaping past the zombies, jumping up to the roof tops.

Mizuki grabs the gun he keeps behind his bar, in case a silly bar fight turned ugly, and takes the weaponless Noiz by the wrist, escaping through the back door.

Koujaku and Mink swing their weapons, effectively taking down the three zombies that broke in. They decide to just leave and push past them when more of the horde outside start to come in.

“What do we do now?!” Koujaku yells when he sees Mizuki and Noiz run in the opposite direction.

“Just run! We'll try and meet each other again, but for now, just run!” Mizuki yells back.

And that was the last time they saw each other for a while.

~

Mizuki and Noiz had found an abandoned building that was surprisingly empty of the undead outside, and decided to claim that as their safe house for now.

They both collapse to the floor, out of breath from the exertion of running this far.

“Of all the people I had to be stuck with,” Noiz pauses to gasp in some air, “it's the guy that stinks of alcohol and doesn’t know how to keep his room clean.”

Mizuki bites his tongue, holding back a few choice words, instead he sighs and says, “Listen, kid, I'm not too happy about the current circumstances either, but if you want to live we are going to have to work together.”

“Whatever.” Noiz says, rolling over onto his side, looking away from Mizuki.

Mizuki sits up. “How about we take shifts?” He suggests. “One of us watches the door while the other sleeps. If something happens we can just wake the other up.”

Noiz looks at his Coil. “You can sleep, I don't usually sleep at night anyways.”

Mizuki's eyebrows raise, he's surprised for a few seconds that Noiz even offered to help out, but he doesn't say anything about it.

He looks around and walks over to a pile of old-looking carpets a few feet away from where Noiz is sitting. He sighs, figuring the carpets are the most comfortable looking thing in this building. “Alright, good night then.” Mizuki says, laying down.

Noiz doesn't look up from his Coil, he just grunts to let Mizuki know he heard him.

It takes about a half an hour for Mizuki to fall asleep, and even then he has trouble actually  _staying_  asleep. He wakes up a few times in a cold sweat, and he looks over at Noiz who is thankfully still alive and still looking down at his Coil.

“I'll be fine, you know.” Noiz says from his spot on the hard floor, the third time Mizuki wakes up.

“What?” Mizuki asks, sitting up and rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“You're worried about me, aren't you? That's why you keep waking up.” Noiz turns his Coil off and smirks at him.

Mizuki rolls his eyes. “Don't get cocky, kid. I'm just worried that your dumb ass will fall asleep and let all the zombies in.”

“I'm not that incompetent.” He picks up Mizuki's gun and aims at his head. “Besides, I've got your gun.”

Mizuki jumps. “Whoa, be careful who you're pointing that at!”

Noiz sets the gun down and turns his Coil back on, turning away from Mizuki again. “Go back to bed.”

“I'll try.” Mizuki lays back down on the old carpets. “Try not to die.”

“I'll try.” Noiz mimics.

~  
It's been an hour and Mizuki had successfully managed to stay asleep the entire time. Noiz has been close to falling asleep a few times already, but luckily Mizuki's obnoxious snoring has snapped him out of it every time.

The sound of the growling zombies outside seems to grow louder with every passing minute and Noiz grabs Mizuki's gun and keeps it close to himself, just in case.

Noiz was starting to get bored, and his Coil wasn't helping at all. There was no other news to read other than “everywhere you go is filled with the undead. Good luck.” and since this whole shit storm, Rhyme was called off completely, so now he can't even gather information about any upcoming matches. He juggled the idea of opening a Rhyme field, just to see if he could pull some zombies into a Drive-By but he discarded the thought when he realized the danger of his allmates getting zombie-fied.

He lays back against the cold, hard warehouse floor with a sigh. He stares up at the ceiling and wonders what would happen if he got bit. Would the pain be so immense that even he would feel it? Would he turn into one of them? The word “relief” pops up in his mind and he grits his teeth when more questions start popping up in his head. Would he feel relief? Relief that all of this was over? Relief that he wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore? He looks over at the door and briefly thinks about going out there to try and put his mind at ease. But he stops himself just as his body unwillingly starts to sit up.

He can't do that and leave Mizuki alone. As much as he doesn't like the guy, he can't leave him that burden. Noiz looks over at Mizuki and thinks about what would happen if he got bitten. Would Mizuki be sad about it? Scared? Would  _Mizuki_   be relieved that Noiz got bit? Mizuki shifts in his sleep and Noiz is jolted out of his thoughts when Mizuki's eyes open and meet his.  
~

“Noiz, it's your turn to sleep.” Mizuki says, rubbing his eyes and stretching, relishing in the feel of his back and shoulders popping.

“Right.” Noiz stands up, almost tripping over Mizuki's gun in the process, and walks over to the pile of old carpets and trades spots with Mizuki.

Mizuki blinks. “Are... are you okay, Noiz?”

Noiz ignores him and instead says, “These are really uncomfortable.”

Mizuki shrugs. “It's better than sleeping on the floor.”

“Not by much.” Noiz grunts. He flips back and forth on the carpets a few times before he finally settles down with a groan. “This is stupid.”

“No, what's stupid is complaining about being uncomfortable when you should be glad you're not one of them.” Mizuki gestures outside where the muffled sounds of the zombies groaning could be heard.

“I'd rather be, then I wouldn't have to worry about being stuck with your alcohol breath and these uncomfortable carpets.” Noiz says, rolling over onto his other side, facing away from Mizuki.

Mizuki resits the urge to strangle the kid, and instead doesn't say anything. He walks over to the two large doors and checks to make sure they're still secure, as they're the only thing keeping them from being zombie food.

“You wouldn't happen to have seen any wooden boards laying around, have you?” Mizuki ask, looking over at Noiz.

Noiz turns over and glares at Mizuki when their eyes meet. “Do you see any boards right now?”

“No, but-” Mizuki starts, trying to explain that not every one notices the same things, but Noiz cuts him off before he can finish.

“Then no.” Noiz ends, rolling back over, facing the wall instead of Mizuki.

Mizuki grits his teeth, a sign he was close to getting angry. “Do you want to die?”

Noiz looks over his shoulder. “What?”

Mizuki takes a breath and says, as calmly as he can, “the boards keeping us alive were rotted and now they're starting to break off. Now, help me find some new boards.”

Noiz scoffs, sitting up off the carpets. “All you had to do was tell me that, not threaten my life.”

“Whatever works to get you off your ass.” Mizuki shrugs, walking around the warehouse.

Noiz stands up and stretches, groaning. “Thanks for letting me sleep.”

“You probably wouldn't have fallen asleep anyways, you were too busy complaining.” Mizuki picks up a steel pole and looks it over before nodding to himself.

“Great, you found something. Can I go back to the carpets?” Noiz asks, watching Mizuki walk towards the doors.

“No,” Mizuki says, shaking his head at the doors, “ this isn't enough.”

Noiz sighs, continuing his walk around the building. “Still nothing here- Mizuki?” He pauses, hearing something that sounds like wood breaking. Noiz is about to ask if everything is okay, but he gets cut off by a scream that could have only come from Mizuki.

He runs back towards the door and almost screams himself when he sees the door was in pieces in front of Mizuki.

“Mizuki! Get out of the way!” Noiz runs up to Mizuki and grabs him by the wrist, much like Mizuki had done to Noiz before, and he runs in the opposite direction of the horde. He finds an empty alley way and drags Mizuki inside.

“What the hell was that about?” Noiz yells.

Mizuki flinches and Noiz starts to apologize before Mizuki cuts him off. “I-I was so scared. I had the gun in my hand but I couldn't shoot any of them. They're people, Noiz!” He says when Noiz gives him a look. “At least they were, and I can't deal with that. I couldn't do it.” Mizuki fights the tears threatening to fall.

Noiz goes to comfort him but he takes a good look at Mizuki and his eyes widen.

Mizuki looks up at him. “What?”

Noiz starts to slowly back away. “Y-you're bitten.” He points at Mizuki's arm.

Mizuki looks down at his arm.

He lets the tears fall.


	2. Suspicion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright so just a warning this chapter has lots of violence and blood ranging from killing zombies, to a detailed explanation of cutting off a person's arm. so, if that's not something you find particularly inviting, feel free to not read this fic because it only gets worse from here 
> 
> enjoy!

Mizuki looks between his blood covered arm and Noiz, sobbing out a strangled, “Oh god, what am I gonna do? Oh god, Noiz.”

“We can cut it off.” Noiz says, looking around the alleyway for anything sharp. He finds a broken mirror but sets it aside and looks for something able to cut through bone. “I'm going back.”

“To the zombie infested building? Are you insane?” Mizuki grips his arm and groans when more blood seeps out of the bite wound, covering his hand in red. “I'm going to die, Noiz. You should leave before I turn.”

Noiz ignores Mizuki in exchange to look out of the alleyway. There's no zombies near them, but he can hear the growling coming from not too far away.

“Noiz! Listen to me!” Mizuki tries to get up but Noiz's hand on his shoulder keeps his back to the brick wall.

“I'll try to find something to cut through the bone.” And without enough time for Mizuki to protest, Noiz is on his feet and running back to their, now unsafe, safe house.

Mizuki's body slumps and he curls in on himself as several sobs wrack his body. He had no idea whether or not Noiz would find something, or if Noiz would make it to the building and back to Mizuki, or if this insane idea would even work.

His body falls from the brick wall and he lets his eyes close as his head hits the pavement.

~

He was a little crazy to come back to the place he just dragged Mizuki out of not too long ago, he will admit that, but he felt like he needed to help Mizuki. He figures that cutting off Mizuki's bitten arm will stop the virus before it can spread through his other limbs and organs. Now, if he could just only find something that's strong enough to cut through a person's bone...

But before that, he had to get through the zombies that were currently surrounding the entrance to the abandoned building. Most of them had all moved inside the building, but a few were still dragging themselves around outside. He dodges a few arms trying to swipe at him, knocks one of them off their feet with a sharp swipe of his leg, and then finally makes his way inside.

He counts about ten zombies just at the entrance, and around six more at the back. He looks around and sees a workbench and figures that will have to be his best bet. He starts walking over to the bench and looks around to make sure none of the zombies are near him; there's a few near the bench, but if he's quiet enough they shouldn't bother with him. There's two shelves covered with useless looking looking tools, none of them sharp enough to cut through skin, never mind a person's bone. There's a drill, a few screwdrivers, boxes of screws and nails, a hammer, and a level. He groans and runs a shaky hand through his matted hair. He hears growling from behind him and feels hands grabbing and clawing at his clothes. He lets out a gasp and quickly grabs the first thing he can reach on the work bench, a screwdriver, before turning around and driving the tool home into the zombie's skull. He pulls the screwdriver back out with some protest from the tool and the zombie falls to the ground, lifeless.

While his guard was down, four zombies managed to sneak up behind him. He stabs another of them with the screwdriver, but can't pull it back out to stab the one next to him.

He struggles with it a few more times before yelling out in frustration and he lets the screwdriver fall down to the ground along with the zombie's body. The zombie next to him grabs at his shirt and he kicks at it, effectively making it fall to the ground. He grabs the drill and jams it in the zombies head and presses the trigger. The zombie's blood sprays everywhere and Noiz covers his eyes with his other arm until the zombie falls limp. He lets out a held breath and isn't all that surprised when it comes out almost as a choked sob.

Another zombie limps over to him and he looks up. He honestly can't believe his luck; there's a hacksaw jammed in the zombie's shoulder. He stands up and grabs another screwdriver off the workbench and quickly takes down the zombie. He pulls the hacksaw out of the zombie's shoulder and runs out of the building. There's tears in his eyes, blood splattered across his clothes and face, and he keeps tripping over himself but there's still a small smile splayed across his face despite all of that.

~

Mizuki's suddenly jolted awoke by the sound of loud footsteps next to his head and he jumps up, his gun in hand and at the ready. Relief passes through him when Noiz's face floods his line of vision.

Noiz puts his hands up. “Whoa, it's just me.” He sits down in front of Mizuki. “Wow, you look like shit.”

Mizuki starts to laugh, but grits his teeth when it causes pain to shoot up his spine and head.

“You okay?”

Mizuki nods, and picks himself up and leans back against the brick wall. “Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?”

“Never better. You ready for this?” Noiz holds up the hacksaw and Mizuki grimaces.

“I have no choice, I guess.”

Noiz starts to prepare Mizuki for what's to come. He takes his tie off and plucks off the small black pins, stuffing them into his pocket. “Open your mouth.” Mizuki makes a face. “It's to muffle you if you scream so the zombies don't come running after us.” Noiz explains when he notices the expression.

“It's still gross. You could at least buy me dinner first.” Mizuki jokes but complies anyway. Noiz balls his tie up and gently places it in Mizuki's mouth. Mizuki bites down on it and pushes it around until it's all in his mouth. He gives Noiz a thumbs up.

“I'll buy you anything you want after this.” Noiz says and Mizuki honestly can't tell if he's joking or not.

He tears a piece of fabric off of his black undershirt and when Mizuki starts to protest he holds up a hand. “I'm wearing two shirts, I'll be fine without one.” Mizuki sighs around the tie and leans back against the brick wall. Noiz wraps the piece of ripped cloth right above the bite on Mizuki's arm, tightly tying it in place.

Noiz makes the first cut without any sort of warning and Mizuki's eyes bug out of his skull as he lets out a blood curdling scream around the tie. Blood spills from the wound and Mizuki sobs. His other arm reaches up and grips Noiz's shirt. His eyes beg for Noiz to stop.

“I'm sorry.” Noiz says and continues sawing at Mizuki's arm. Mizuki bites down on the tie, but it does nothing to stop him from screaming again. His entire body arches as the scream rips through him and Noiz pauses the sawing for a split second, but continues again just as quickly as he had stopped. Mizuki tries to pull away from the saw, but Noiz uses his free arm to hold him down. Fresh tears spill down Mizuki's face as he sobs again.

Noiz hears the bone finally crack, and after one more torturous cut of the saw, Mizuki's bitten arm falls to the ground. Tear are still streaming down Mizuki's face, and his breath his coming out loud and harsh enough for Noiz to hear it past the tie. Noiz forces Mizuki's mouth open, because it seems like Mizuki is too far gone to do anything but stare into space as his eyes fill with more tears, and he pulls his tie out. Mizuki lets out another sob before his eyes close and his body collapses to the ground.

Noiz takes off his ripped black undershirt and wraps it tightly around the stub of Mizuki's arm. Blood instantly pools and Noiz unrolls Mizuki's jacket sleeve and ties it in a knot to keep the blood from flowing out any more. He lets out a sigh and falls back against the brick wall opposite of Mizuki. Before he can get too comfy, he hears the growls of the zombies getting closer to their hiding spot. Shit, he thinks, they must be able to smell the blood. He jumps up from his spot on the ground and goes to pick up Mizuki. Careful of his arm, Noiz picks up Mizuki bridal style. Mizuki groans, but otherwise he doesn't stir in his sleep.

Noiz checks the entrance of the alleyway to make sure it's clear and walks in the opposite direction of the abandoned building and the ever growing hoard.

~

Mizuki wakes up about an hour later and he tries to move. The action shoots pain across his entire body, causing him to groan. His head is aching and his newly cut arm is throbbing painfully. Noiz's face pops up into his line of vision and his eyebrows knit together.

“Noiz? Where are we?”

“In an alley near Platinum Jail.”

Mizuki laughs softly. “What's with us and alleyways?”

Noiz shrugs. “They're the safest place to hide. How're you feeling?”

“Fine.” Mizuki say shortly. He looks around. “But why Platinum Jail? You think it's still up and running during all of this?” There's none of the bright, glistening lights on and he can't hear anything inside, no people, no music, nothing.

“My allmates said it was highly protected so no zombies can get in. We might be able to get some food.”

“Okay,” Mizuki says slowly, “If no zombie can get in, what makes you think me and you will be able to get in?”

“We can just sneak in. It shouldn't be that hard.”

One of Noiz's allmates squeaks from the chain it's on. “P! Someone's coming! Hide! Hide!” But before the two of them can react, a set of footsteps stop in front of their hiding spot.

“That won't be necessary.” A venomous voice from above them says.

They both look up at the owner of the voice, and if it was possible, Mizuki's skin appeared to go even paler than before. The two worst people Noiz was hoping they wouldn't have to deal with; Virus and Trip.

“I'm glad we get to meet again, Mizuki-san. Although I'm sad it's under these circumstances.” His piecing blue gaze slowly drags down to Mizuki's arm.

Again?, Noiz thinks. He looks over at Mizuki; his lips are drawn up in a snarl.

“What the fuck do you guys want?”

Trip puts a hand to his heart. “So cruel.” He snorts.

“Well,” Virus starts, “you two are on our property. And we don't usually take too kindly to trespassers. But since it's Mizuki-san and his friend, we're willing to cut you a deal.”

“I'm not making a deal with yakuza trash like you guys.” Mizuki spits.

“Oh? But you haven't even listened to what the deal is. I was thinking of letting you both in and giving you food and a place to sleep, but if you don't want it, that's fine.”

“There has to be a catch.”

Virus puts his arms up, in an almost submissive manner, but Mizuki's not falling for it. “No catch.”

“They might have pain medication.” Noiz speaks up.

“We certainly do.”

Mizuki sighs. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Great, just meet us inside. We'll let the guards know you have the okay to come in.” And with that, the two left a very angry Mizuki and a slightly confused Noiz alone in the alleyway.

~

Getting past the guards stationed in front of the Tower was an experience in itself, but walking into Platinum Jail definitely took the cake. It was like walking into a small city, with bright lights shining down on the buildings and the streets.

Noiz's coil beeps and he looks down at it. An icon for a new message pops up and he clicks on it. A light screen pulls up and a set of directions are displayed.

“Maybe it's from the yakuza twins?” Mizuki asks, reading the directions past Noiz's shoulder. Another message suddenly pops up and Noiz's clicks on it.

_We are not twins, Mizuki-san._

Mizuki cringes. “Fuck, now they're spying on us?”

“Should we trust the directions?”

“I don't think we really have a choice.”

~

Thankfully, the directions didn't lead them into some shady back alley, instead they're left staring at a fancy looking hotel.

Noiz's coil beeps again and a message pops up so quickly Noiz can't react quickly enough.

_The room won't bite. Go on._

Mizuki sighs and grips the handle, turning it to the side. The door opens up into a pretty, classic looking room, complete with a living room, a dining room, a kitchen off to the side, and an upstairs. They both walk in and Mizuki closes and locks the door behind them. He immediately plops down on the couch.

“Hey, Noiz?”

Noiz looks up from his coil. “Yeah?”

“Can you turn that off? They might be listening again.” Mizuki asks, looking down at Noiz's coil. When Noiz complies, Mizuki sits up on the couch. “Okay, there's obviously something they're not telling us. For one, how did they know we would be there, and two why they decide to let us in? It seem sketchy.”

Noiz shrugs. “We might as well take advantage of it.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He stands up off the couch and walks around the place. He looks inside the kitchen and his jaw almost drops. The granite top counters are covered in food; small bags of chips, canned food, granola bars, and other more fancy looking things Mizuki cannot identify. He walks over to the fridge and sees water bottles and more cans. He picks one up and almost drops it. Canned peaches! He kicks the fridge door closed and sets the can down. He opens all of the drawers until he finds a can opener and stands back in front of the can. He sighs.

“Noiz?” Mizuki calls.

Noiz pops into view. “Yeah?”

“Can you open this for me?” He holds up the can and Noiz snorts. “Hey, it's not funny!”

Noiz shakes his head and grabs the can and can opener from Mizuki. He opens up the can and sets the can opener down. “Do you want me to feed them to you too?”

Mizuki's ears turn red as he grabs a fork, stabbing it into a peach. “Shut up!” He grabs the can and walks back to the living room. He plops down on the couch and crosses his legs and sets the can of peaches between his legs to steady them. He picks up the fork and pops one into his mouth with a satisfied smile.

Noiz walks in with a bag of chips and sits down on the couch across from the one Mizuki's sitting on and Mizuki tries to ignore the slight, almost happy looking smile resting on Noiz's features.

"This doesn't mean I trust them." Mizuki says, popping another peach into his mouth.

"Mhmm." Noiz agrees, munching on a handful of pizza flavored chips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peaches and chips, the luxury food of the zombie apocalypse!
> 
> feel free to leave any comments, questions, or concerns about this fic and any criticism you may have.
> 
> thanks!


	3. Error

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry these chapters always only average out to like two thousand words i havent really mastered the art of writing more than that at a time //
> 
> but i'll try and update as quickly as i can so you arent left hanging on the cliff too long!
> 
> enjoy!

After finishing a total of three and a half cans of peaches (the leftover half is now sitting on the top shelf of the fridge), Mizuki calls it a night and heads upstairs to look for a bedroom. But finding one was a problem in itself. As in, there was only one. He walks back down the set of stairs and Noiz looks up at him for a second before looking back down at his Coil.

“Do you need me to tuck you in and give you a good night kiss?” Noiz asks, smirking slightly. Mizuki feels like punching that stupid smirk off his face.

Mizuki grits his teeth. “No, you ass. I came to tell you there's only one bedroom upstairs. The other doors lead to a room that looks like it's used for storage, a room that's completely empty, and a bathroom. And I don't see any other rooms down here. There's also no other beds or futons around anywhere.” 

“So?” Noiz asks, flipping through something on his Coil. Mizuki hopes that if Noiz is playing a game on there, he loses whatever it is.

“So,” Mizuki starts, clearly irritated, “one of us is without a bed to sleep on.” 

Noiz turns off his Coil and finally keeps his eyes on Mizuki for longer than three seconds. “I'm fine with sharing but if it makes you uncomfortable, I'll sleep down here.” 

Mizuki physically deflates; he wasn't expecting that kind of answer from Noiz. He was expecting Noiz to want the bed to himself and they would have to fight to decides who gets it. He's been itching for a good fight with a sparring partner that wasn't a decaying, undead human.

“You deserve it.” Noiz says suddenly, breaking Mizuki from his thoughts. His voice was so soft, a complete three-sixty from how he usually talks. 

Mizuki blinks. “Huh?”

“You deserve it.” Noiz repeats. “For everything you've had to go through today, you should get the bed.” 

Mizuki scratches the back of his neck. “Oh. Well, now I feel like an asshole.” 

“That's because you are.” Noiz says. Ah, there's the Noiz he knows. And that stupid smirk again.

Mizuki rolls his eyes. “Whatever, I'm going to bed. Goodnight.” Noiz gives him a short wave to let Mizuki know he heard him before looking back down at his Coil, and Mizuki walks back up the creaky steps. He steps into the comfy looking bedroom and closes the door behind himself. He walks over to the bed and pulls the comforter down, carefully settling down into the bed for a good nights sleep. 

~

To Noiz's knowledge, Mizuki's been asleep since he left to go to bed three hours ago. It's the first time the two of them can actually get some good sleep in without worrying they might get killed if they keep their eyes closed for too long, but even while knowing that, Noiz can't fall asleep. 

He's been on his Coil for the past three hours that Mizuki's been gone, doing nothing but playing games with his allmates. Even the Usagimodoki were starting to get tired, so he lets them go into sleep mode and he takes the chains of bunny cubes off his belt and sets them down on the coffee table next to him. 

He lets out a small groan and rolls over on his side. He's been lying on his back for the past three hours and now his muscles were yelling at him for it. He closes his eyes and hopes the third time will be the charm and he will finally fall asleep. He's tried twice already and his eyes refuse to stay close. He thought about taping them down right before he started to actually feel tired. His muscles start to relax and his breathing starts to slow. He hears a small sound come from somewhere near him in the room and his body instantly jolts upright on the couch, ready to take down any zombies. He looks around the room until his eyes land on his Coil, currently resting on the floor. He sighs; he forgot to put his Coil on the table before he he fell asleep. A sudden idea pops up in his mind when he sees his Coil and he's shocked that he didn't think of it earlier. 

Thinking back on what Mizuki had said to him earlier, there's definitely something fishy going on in Platinum Jail, and Mizuki and Noiz are now in the middle of it. With Toue gone, Trip and Virus now have full control over Platinum Jail and Oval Tower. Anything suspicious that happens to be going on here, is probably the result of whatever they're doing. 

Noiz grabs his Coil off of the floor and turns it on. He grabs his chains of bunny cubes and sets them all to online mode. He opens up several different holographic screens in front of him from his Coil and sets to work. A map of Platinum Jail opens up on one of the screens and he zooms in on it until Oval Tower comes into view. He double taps it and an inside view of the Tower is displayed across every one of his screens. 

“Find the room with the most activity in it. I need to hack into any of their files you can find.” Noiz's orders are followed by a chorus of “Roger!” and the Usagimodoki set to work on hacking the Oval Tower. An error screen immediately pops up on one of his screens and he grits his teeth. 

“Error! Error! Noiz, directions!” 

Noiz looks at the two Usagimodoki in front of the error screen and sighs. “Try again. Until we find something useful, we're not stopping.” 

“Roger!” 

One of the other screens shows that two of them managed to break through the first wall of security that Oval Tower has. They instantly work on breaking the second wall and Noiz is surprised when it breaks away easier than the first wall. He smirks, they must have thought no one could break into the first wall, so they didn't use as much security for the second wall. 

“Rookie mistake.” He mutters to himself, shaking his head.

“Second wall breached! Breached! Noiz, directions!” 

“Look for any files relating to Seragaki Aoba or Mizuki.” 

“Roger!” 

Now, all of the Usagimodoki had breached every wall of security Trip and Virus had set up and were all searching for any files with Aoba or Mizuki mentioned in them. 

“Noiz! Files found! Found!” 

Noiz presses the link that pops up and hundreds of files appear, filling up all of his screens. There's too many to look through, why is there so much information on them anyway? 

“Look for the ones with the most recent date. Only go back a few days.” 

Instantly the Usagimodoki chorus “Files found!” 

Noiz presses the link that pops up and his eyebrows knit together at what the files contain. Some date to right before the zombies started showing up and some are dated right up to...

“Three hours ago?” 

The files were set up like journal entries for a science project, filled with details of everything him and Mizuki have done so far since Mizuki dragged him by his wrist out of the Black Needle. There was even files on what Aoba has been doing along with Clear and Sei. The most recent entry about them was yesterday and it talks about where their safe house is. The most recent entry about Noiz and Mizuki was made about three hours ago, right before Mizuki went to bed. 

Fuck, Noiz thinks, even without their Coils on, Trip and Virus still have ways of listening in on them. He decides to look back at the files about Aoba when a shiver jolts up his spine at the though of being observed.

The entries about Aoba were just as creepy as the ones about Mizuki and him, but one good thing did come out of reading them; he now knows that Aoba is safe and he knows where Aoba's safe house is currently located. 

He's about to tell the Usagimodoki to look up files on Koujaku's current location, when all of his screens suddenly blue screen before turning off. He tries to get them back online a few times, before sighing and setting his Coil down on the table. He runs a hand through his hair and hopes that Trip and Virus didn't find him out. 

He decides to not worry about it right now and instead goes upstairs to tell Mizuki what he found out. 

~

Mizuki wakes up to his body feeling like its been lit on fire and his arm and head throbbing painfully. He hears someone walking up the stairs and grabs his gun. Noiz opens the door and Mizuki instantly relaxes and sets his gun back down. He pulls the comforter off of himself and hopes that will help with the feeling of his skin being on fire.

“You look like shit.” Is the first thing Noiz says when his eyes land on Mizuki.

Mizuki laughs. “I feel like shit.” He shrugs out of his leather jacket when his skin still feels hot, and sets it aside on the bed. “Anyway, was there something you needed?” 

“No, I just wanted to come cuddle with you.” Noiz deadpans. 

Mizuki raises and eyebrow and Noiz shakes his head. “I found out something about Aoba.” 

Mizuki perks up at that. “Really? What?” 

“Where he's located. He's safe, don't worry.” Noiz reassures when he sees Mizuki look like he's about to faint from the suspense of whether or not Aoba is okay. “He's somewhere with the gas mask guy and the skeleton one. There isn't any zombies around them. They all seem safe.” 

“How did you find all of this out?” 

“I hacked into the files those yakuza have saved within Oval Tower. There's detailed entries about all of us. But, before I could get to files about the old man, my stuff blue screened and shut down. I assumed they didn't want me knowing anymore.” 

Mizuki blinks slowly. “You hacked into Oval Tower?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Oh. Wow, that's-” Mizuki doesn't even know what he was going to say before his body slowly slumps to the side before he can finish his sentence. He falls back onto the bed with a soft thump. Noiz rushes over to him and leans next to him on the bed. 

“Mizuki? Are you okay?” 

His breath is coming out in short gasps and he has a hard time answering. “I-it hurts...” He tries to gasp in more breath. “I-it hurts to breathe,” He coughs. “my body is hot.” 

Noiz puts the back of his hand to Mizuki's forehead and quickly pulls it back, as if he was burned by a hot stove. Mizuki's skin was hot enough for even Noiz to feel its heat. 

“Maybe there's some medicine around here that we can use.” Noiz goes to get up off the bed and Mizuki grabs his wrist. His grip isn't strong enough to actually stop Noiz from moving, but Noiz stays put anyway. 

“I think I'm going to turn, Noiz.” Mizuki says quietly. 

“No, you'll-.” 

Mizuki puts his hand on Noiz's shoulder and smiles softly. Noiz wants to punch him in the face for being so calm. 

“I need you do to something for me okay?” Mizuki asks and Noiz feels like something bad is coming. He's never had to listen to a dying person's wish and will before. It takes him a few seconds, but Noiz nods. 

“Go and find Aoba and Koujaku for me. Tell them to keep an eye on the Black Needle. Make sure they treat the customers right, and don't let them get too drunk. As for the tattoos, I have an apprentice that can take care of it all.” Mizuki puts his hand over his mouth and coughs sharply. He apologizes quickly and then says, “I want you to watch over Dry Juice.” 

“But they hate me.” 

Mizuki laughs at how blunt Noiz is. “Yeah, they do.” Noiz grimaces and Mizuki smiles. “But I need you to check up on them once and a while, alright? You don't have to strike up a conversation with them, or anything. Just make sure they're okay. They're my family, I need to make sure someone will watch over them. Keep them safe. ” 

Noiz nods again, understanding how important this is for Mizuki. “I will.”

Mizuki tries to smile but it falters a little and he groans softly, shifting his position. Noiz notices how pale Mizuki looks, how sunk in his face looks. He's about to look away when Mizuki whispers, “Thank you.” 

Noiz's eyes snap up to meet Mizuki's and Mizuki manages to keep a smile in place. “For what?”

“For agreeing to all of this. And for being here with me during my final hour while I slowly rot away.” He grits his teeth. “You better leave.”

“But-.” Before Noiz has the chance to protest, Mizuki growls. Noiz jumps up from his spot on the bed. He spots the glint of Mizuki's gun in the light and he quickly grabs it before Mizuki has the chance to grab at him. 

He holds the gun out in front of him and tries to steady he shaky hands as he aims for Mizuki's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry oh my god


	4. Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i dont want to give too much away, but just to make things easier to understand, Noiz's role in this story is over for right now and it's going to be following Clear, Sei, and Aoba 
> 
> so after Noiz's part in this chapter, their part starts and it's set right when Clear grabs the twins from Mizuki's bar and jumps to the roof tops. 
> 
> ah also sorry this one took a little longer to upload i had a bit of writer's block 
> 
> enjoy!

The gun slips from his hands, crashing to the floor, and his legs give out. He falls to his knees in front of the bed and grits his teeth as tears start to form in his eyes. 

He just had to kill Mizuki. 

He had to kill the man who had saved him from becoming zombie food. He had to kill the man who he had risked his life to save. 

He had to kill the man he was slowly starting to think of as a friend. 

He wipes the tears from his eyes before they have the chance to fall and he picks himself up off the floor. He walks over to the bed and pulls a sheet over Mizuki's body. He flips the switch to turn the lights off and he closes the door behind himself. He stands in front of the door for a few minutes, slowly trying to regain his usual calm and cool composure. He takes a few deep breaths and looks around in every room before he finds a duffel bag. He brings it into the kitchen and stuffs as many bags of snacks and bottles of water in it as he can fit. He walks to the front door, takes one last look inside, and closes the door behind himself. He looks up and down the street to make sure know one's around, and when the coast is clear, he runs as fast as he can out of Platinum Jail.

There's only one thing on his mind now: finding Aoba. 

~  
Aoba was suddenly aware of two things: one, his feet were currently not touching the ground, and two, he could hear screaming and he really wasn't all that surprised that it was coming from him and Sei.

Clear had both Aoba and Sei in a tight hold in his arms and was jumping from roof to roof, narrowly missing falling to the horde of undead below them.

“Master? Sei-san? Are you two alright?” Clear asks, and Aoba's mildly confused when he doesn't sound even a little out of breath. 

Sei puts a hand over his mouth, to keep himself from throwing up, Aoba assumes, and shakes his head. Aoba nods to Sei and shakily says to Clear, “W-we're not hurt or anything, Clear, but could you please stop and put us down for a second?” 

“Alright.” Clear suddenly stops and Aoba's afraid they're all going to tumble of the roof, but Clear holds a steady grip on both of Aoba and Sei's shoulders. “Did I do something wrong?” 

“No! No, Clear, you're fine. It's just that neither me or Sei are used to jumping roof tops, so our bodies can't handle it that well.” 

Clear looks like a kicked puppy and Aoba goes to apologize when Clear suddenly asks, “Is there anything I can do?” 

Aoba looks over to Sei, who still has his hand over his mouth, and Sei shakes his head again. Aoba looks back over at Clear and gives him an apologetic smile. “We just need a few minutes to ourselves so we can calm down, okay?” 

Clear nods. “Anything for Master. Just let me know when you are ready.” He jumps to the roof next to them and stares out at the other buildings around them. 

“W-what do we do now, brother?” Sei asks, sounding more out of breath than Clear.

Aoba sits down, cringing when one of the shingles falls to the ground, alerting the zombies of their presence. 

“Well, for right now, you need to sit down and relax for a few minutes. After that I guess we should try and find somewhere to hide for now. Maybe a safe house or something. Somewhere we can stay safe until we figure out a better plan.” 

Sei sits down next to Aoba and rests his head on Aoba's shoulder. Aoba puts his arm around Sei's side and smiles when Sei squeezes in closer. 

“Do you have an idea for a safe house we can use?”

Aoba shakes his head. “No, but that's half the fun of a zombie apocalypse, right? 

Sei snorts. “Sure.” 

“So you think you're up for roof hopping again?” 

Sei sighs. “Yeah.” 

Aoba hops up from his spot on the roof and calls out to Clear. Clear turns to look at them and immediately comes running towards them. 

“Are Master and Sei-san okay now?” 

“Yeah, we're fine Clear. But, we were wondering-.”

“Yes?” 

“-if you would know of somewhere we can hide out for a little while. Somewhere that preferably doesn't have zombies.” Aoba continues as if he wasn't interrupted. 

“We can go to my grandfather's house!” Clear says excitedly. “It's in a very secluded area so no zombies should be there.” 

Aoba and Sei exchange a look and Sei nods. Aoba looks back up at Clear. “Okay, but shouldn't you take a little break too? Carrying two guys in their twenties has got to put some stress on your body, right?”

Clear shakes his head. “Master needn't worry, I am perfectly fine!” 

“Alright, Clear.” Aoba says, although not completely convinced. “Just let us know if you need to stop.” 

“Of course, Master.” Clear picks the pair of twins back up, checks to make sure they're secure, and goes back to jumping from roof to roof. 

~  
Immediately after Clear jumps to the next building's roof, Sei's hand goes over his mouth. Aoba looks over at him.

"S-Sei? Are you alright?" Aoba asks, starting to feel the toll on his body from the roof jumping. 

Sei nods. "I'm okay." He answers, muffled by his hand. 

Clear looks between the two of them. "Would you like me to stop again?" 

Aoba looks at Sei, and Sei shakes his head. "No, I'm okay, I promise." 

"Clear? How much longer do you think we have?" 

Clear thinks for a second. "Hmm, about thirty minutes?" 

Aoba looks at Sei again. "Think you can make it that long without passing out or throwing up?" 

Sei narrows his eyes. "Very funny, Aoba. I'll be fine." 

"Alright, Clear, you have the okay to keep going!" 

"Yes, Master!" Clear smiles and continues to jump from roof to roof. 

~

After exactly half and hour later, Clear suddenly stops again on a roof in front of an old looking building. The house was definitely in the middle of a very secluded area that looked like know one has been in for a while. 

“Here we are.” Clear announces. He lets the twins down, holding both of their shoulders again so they don't fall. 

“You were right, Clear.” Aoba smiles, looking around the area. “Not a zombie in sight.” 

“We should get in before our luck changes.” Sei says. 

Aoba and Clear both nod. Clear jumps down off the roof and holds up his arms to catch the twins. When Aoba unconsciously backs up, Clear says reassuringly, “I'll catch you, Master! I promise!”'

Sei pats him on the back. “You can do it, brother.” He smiles when Aoba looks over at him. 

Aoba sighs. “Ah, what the hell?” He jumps from the roof, right into Clear's arms. Clear easily catches him without even budging. He carefully sets Aoba down. 

“Are you okay, Master?” Clear asks. 

Aoba nods. “Yep, not a scratch.” 

Clear puts his arms back up to catch Sei. “My turn!” Sei yells before he jumps into Clear's arms. He laughs. “That was fun!”

“Are you alright, Sei-san?”

“All good!” 

“Alright,” Aoba starts. “Let's hurry up and get inside.” 

~

Once they make it safely inside Clear's grandfather's house, they all settle down on the couch. 

“So, what now?” Aoba asks, looking between the two of them. 

“How about something to eat?” Clear offers, quickly jumping up off the couch. "I can prepare something for all of us."

Aoba smiles. “Sounds good, neither of us have eaten since Mizuki called us over. Do you need any help?” He's about to get up when Clear shakes his head. 

“Oh no, you're my guests! Please sit back and enjoy while I cook for you. But, first I must get something from upstairs.” 

Clear walks upstairs and when Sei is sure he's out of earshot, he looks over at Aoba. 

“He's a bit strange, isn't he?” 

Aoba laughs. “Just a little, but I'm sure you'll get used to him.” Aoba sets his bag down on the couch next to him and unzips it open. A little blue fur covered head pops up. 

“Aoba.” Ren greets. 

“Hi, Ren. Sorry for not letting you out until now, I had to make sure we were somewhere safe first.” 

“It's alright, Aoba. How are you and Sei feeling?” Ren looks between the two of them and Sei speaks up first. 

“Good! We have somewhere safe to stay for now, and Clear's getting ready to make us something to eat.”

“That is good to hear, Sei.” His black eyes land on Aoba. “How are you feeling, Aoba?” 

“I'm feeling good, all things considered. But, we can't get too relaxed. Never know what might happen.” 

“That is true.” 

Clear comes back down the stairs and all three of them look up at him. Aoba almost chokes; he's wearing a pink frilly apron and Aoba's guessing he's not wearing anything underneath, as his pants from before are gone. 

“Clear?” Aoba asks calmly. 

“Yes?” 

“What the hell are you wearing?!” Aoba yells and Clear jumps. 

“A-ah, well, I read somewhere that some men like it when someone wears an apron and cooks for them, so I thought-.” 

Aoba cuts him off. “Well, you thought wrong.” Sei smiles when he sees Aoba's pink-tinted cheeks.

“Aoba, he's just trying to be nice.” Sei whispers. “Don't be rude to him.” 

Aoba sighs. “Fine.” 

“Should I take it off?” Clear asks timidly.

“No,” Aoba says, shaking his head, “no, you can keep it on. But, only until you finishing making something to eat. After that, it's coming off.” 

Clear claps his hands together. “Thank you, Master! I'll be sure to make both you and Sei-san a great meal!” His gas mask-clad face moves over to look at Ren. “Ah, Ren-san!” He walks up to Ren and gently grabs him out of Aoba's bag, squeezing him close to his chest. 

“Fluffy, fluff!” 

“Clear.” 

“You're so fluffy, Ren-san!” 

“Clear, stop.” 

Aoba laughs. “If I have to endure the naked apron, then you have to endure this.” 

Clear lets Ren down on the couch after one more quick squeeze, and Ren instantly retreats back into Aoba's bag. He walks towards the kitchen. “I'll start cooking now.” 

“See ya, Clear.” Aoba waves and Clear walks fully into the kitchen. 

Sei smiles. “You did the right thing, about the apron, I mean, even if it means having him dance around the kitchen half naked, at least he's happy, right?” 

“Yeah, I guess your right. But seriously, who thinks of cooking in a pink apron in the middle of a zombie apocalypse? And where did he even get it?!”

Sei laughs softly and put a finger to his mouth. “Shh, brother, he'll here you.”

“Hmph.” 

Aoba and Sei sit back on the couch, watching Clear dance around the kitchen, humming softly. 

"Hey, Clear?" 

Clear sets a pan down and turns to look at Aoba through a window carved out in the middle of the wall. "Yes, Master?" 

"What're you humming? It sounds nice." 

"Oh, it's a song I made up myself! I call it the Jellyfish Song. Do you like it?" 

Aoba nods and closes his eyes, getting comfortable on the couch. "Yeah, can you keep humming it?" 

"Of course!" 

Clear goes back to humming as he cooks and a small smile works its way across Aoba's features. 

~

After twenty minutes of hearing the soft clack of pots and pans mixed with the soft humming of Clear, Aoba was fast asleep. Sei gently wakes him up when Clear walks out of the kitchen with several plates piled high with different foods in his hands and lined up his arms. 

“Food's ready!” He says happily. 

Sei gets up off the couch and takes a few plates from Clear, handing one to Aoba and setting the rest on the coffee table.

Clear sits down on the couch opposite to the twins and grabs a plate.

“Time to eat!” 

~

After happily stuffing their faces and filling their stomachs with food, and after Clear changed back into his regular clothes, Aoba and Sei insisted on cleaning the dishes while Clear relaxed on the couch. 

Clear, of course, refused a few times before finally giving in. He sits down on the couch and pulls Ren into his lap, who lays down with little protest. 

Aoba and Sei both make their way into the kitchen and get started on doing the dishes. They work well as a team, one scrubs and rinses while the other dries and puts away. They have a pretty good routine going and they're about almost done with all of the dirty dishes when Clear walks in. 

He looks around. “Can I help with anything?” 

Sei smiles as he scrubs at a particularly stubborn stain on one of the plates. “We're almost finished, but thank you for offering.” 

Clear's shoulder's slump and Aoba flicks some water at him. 

“Ah, Master! What was that for?” Clear wipes the eye holes on his gas mask with his sleeve and Aoba laughs. 

“Don't act so sad because you can't wash any dishes.” 

“That's not what I'm sad about, Master.” 

Sei turns the water off after he finishes washing the last dish and turns to look at Clear. “Then, what are you sad about, Clear?” 

He looks over to Sei, then back at Aoba. “It's not that I want to wash dishes with you, Master, I just wanted to be closer with you. A-ah, but Sei-san please don't be upset! I don't mean it like that!” 

Sei puts his hands up and shakes his head. “It's alright, Clear.” He smiles softly. “I understand.” He wipes his hands on a towel and pats Aoba on the shoulder. “I'll leave you two alone.” 

Aoba watches Sei leave and then looks every but Clear. 

“Master?” 

Aoba jumps. “Y-yes?” 

“I'm very sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” 

Aoba shakes his head. “N-no it's not that, Clear. How about we do something together, okay?" He suggests. "Anything you want, but it has to be something we can do in the house, obviously.” 

Clear perks up. “Anything?” 

“Yes, but on one condition.” 

“What is it, Master?” 

“That right there!” Aoba points at Clear and Clear looks behind himself, then points at himself. 

“Me?” 

Aoba shakes his head. “Not you in particular, just the way you call me 'Master'. It's a little weird, so I want you to just call me Aoba.” 

“And then we can do something together?” 

Aoba nods.

Clear's gas mask points towards the ground, and Aoba assumes he's too nervous to look at him, even through the gas mask, and he stutters out, “A-Aoba-san.” 

Aoba grins. “That was perfect!” He pulls Clear into a hug and Clear laughs. 

“Aoba-san! I did it!” 

Aoba looks up at Clear. “So, what do you want to do?” 

Clear thinks for a few seconds before answering. “Hmm, how about we watch a movie together? Sei-san can watch with us too, of course!”

Aoba smiles. “Sounds good.” 

They both walk out of the kitchen and Sei looks up at them from his place on the couch. “Is everything alright now?” 

“Yes, Sei-san! Me and Aoba-san worked things out and now we're going to watch a movie. You're welcome to join us.” 

Sei's eyebrows lift slightly when he hears Clear call Aoba his name instead of the usual “Master”, but he quickly changes from a shocked expression to a happy one. “You two sound like a couple who just survived their first fight.” 

Aoba's cheeks flare. “Sei!” 

Sei giggles. “So, what movie are we watching?” 

“Ah, I was hoping we could watch this one!” He walks over to a shelf and pulls out a DVD labeled “The Jellyfish King”.

Aoba nods. “Looks good to me." He settles down on the couch next to Sei and Clear puts the DVD into the DVD player. 

As the opening credits start to play and Clear sits down on the couch and gently moves Aoba to lay in his lap, Aoba can't help but think this is another “calm before the storm” type of situation.


	5. Regroup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man this sure is late! sorry about that ^^;
> 
> ive been sorta busy with school stuff so i havent been able to write that much 
> 
> i'll try to upload at least every week 
> 
> enjoy!

As the end credits of the movie start to roll, Clear notices Aoba had fallen asleep in his lap. Sei was also asleep on the opposite side of the couch, with his face pressed up against the armchair, snoring softly. 

Clear debates whether or not he should wake up the twins and move them to sleep in his bed, or if he should just leave them be on the couch. He goes with the second option, and grabs a blanket from the ottoman next to the couch, and pulls it over the sleeping twins. He relaxes back into the couch and watches both of them, making sure they're both still breathing as they sleep deeply. 

Clear starts to sing softly when Sei shifts in his sleep. He stops his song abruptly when Sei's eyes open to meet his. Sei goes to say something and Clear quickly puts a finger to is own mouth and points at the sleeping Aoba in his lap. 

Sei smiles and nods. “Have we been asleep long?” He asks quietly. 

Clear shakes his head. “You fell asleep a little bit before the movie ended, and the movie only ended a few minutes ago, so not very long.” 

“Do you want me to wake him so you can get up and got to bed?” 

“Oh, no!” Clear whispers urgently. “It's alright if he stays here until he wakes up.” 

Sei frowns. “But shouldn't you get some rest, too?” 

“No, I'm alright! I don't need sleep like humans do.” 

Sei blinks. “Like humans-.” 

Aoba sighs. “It's kind of hard to get any sleep with you guys talking.” 

Clear jumps. “A-ah, Aoba-san sorry!” 

Aoba shakes his head and rubs the sleep out of his eyes. “It's alright, Clear. You should have woken me up earlier, you need to get some sleep, too.” 

“No, Aoba-san, it's fine!" Clear protests. "I don't need to sleep like you two do. And you can stay in my lap, if you want! I don't mind at all.” 

Aoba stands up. “No, Clear, you need to go to your own room and sleep in your bed. Sei and I will sleep on the couch.” He looks over at Sei. “You okay with that?” 

Sei smiles. “No objections here.” 

“Good, so it's been decided.” Aoba turns back to look at Clear. “Come on, I'll even walk upstairs with you.” 

Clear pouts. “Alright, Aoba-san. Goodnight, Sei-san.” 

“Goodnight, Clear.” 

Clear walks up the stairs and Aoba follows behind him. When they reach Clear's room, Clear sits down on his bed and looks up at Aoba. Aoba turns to leave. “Alright, goodnight, Cle-.” 

“No, Aoba-san.” Clear interrupts.

Aoba's eyebrows raise slightly. “Huh?” 

“I'll only go to sleep, if you stay in here with me.” 

“On the floor?” 

Clear shakes his head and pats the bed.

Aoba face turns slightly pink and he looks away from Clear. “No way.” 

“Aw, but Aoba-san...!” Clear complains. 

“I'm sleeping downstairs with Sei and that's that.” Aoba says sternly.

Clear falls back onto the bed. “You're no fun, Aoba-san.” 

Aoba's lip twitches. “Goodnight, Clear.” 

“Goodnight, Aoba-san!” 

Aoba flips the light switch and closes the door behind himself as he leaves. He walks back downstairs and Sei looks up at him. 

“You were up there for a while.” 

“Not really.” Aoba says dismissively. 

Sei nods. “Hmm. You ready to go to bed, now?” 

“Yep.” Aoba walks over to the couch and lays down on one side of the couch, resting his head on one of the armrests. Sei does the same on the opposite side. He pulls the blanket across both of them. 

“Goodnight, little brother.” 

Aoba smiles. “Goodnight, big brother.” 

~

Aoba wakes up a few hours later to a loud banging noise coming from outside. He sits up on the couch and rubs his eyes. “Sei.” He says. “Hey, Sei.” He tries again, louder this time. 

Sei wake slowly. He breathes in and his eyes open to meet Aoba's. “Aoba? What's wrong?” There's another loud bang and Sei jumps. 

“That.” Aoba cocks his head towards the noise. 

Sei sits up. “Should we go get Clear up?” 

“No, we should be fine. It might just be some trash from outside blown up against the side of the house from the wind. Come on.” He stands up and walks to the front door, Sei trailing slowly behind him. 

Aoba slowly pulls the door open and stumbles backwards when something tries to push through. Or, more like, someone. An undead someone. The source of the noise from earlier was caused by a zombie banging at the door. Once the door opens fully, the zombie falls to the ground and starts crawling towards Aoba. Sei notices one of its legs is missing and hopes that can be used to their advantage. He grabs the nearest sharp object; a piece from a broken umbrella, and drives it home into the zombies head before it can bite Aoba. 

Sei falls to his knees and lets out a choked gasp. 

Aoba lies down fully on the floor and laughs nervously. “Holy shit. We could've just died.” 

They both look up at the sound of the stairs creaking. Clear comes into view and rushes down the stairs when he sees Aoba and Sei. 

“Aoba-san, Sei-san, are you okay?!”

Aoba nods and moves into a sitting position. “Yeah, we're fine, Clear. We just had a little run-in with a zombie, but we're good now.” 

Clear holds out a hand to help Sei to his feet, and Aoba follows suit. “I'll check to make sure it's safe.” Clear says, walking outside. 

“Wait, Clear, it might be-.” Aoba's sentence is cut off by the sharp gasp he hears from outside. The sound of growling coming from multiple different zombies, and the sound of metal being crushed rings through Aoba's ears. He's about to run outside when someone grabs him by the wrist. He turns around and locks eyes with Sei. 

“Sei? What are you doing? Let me go! Clear's in trouble! He could get bitten!” Aoba struggles to try and get out of Sei's grip, but his grip just gets stronger. 

Sei shakes his head and Aoba's eyes widen. “It's too dangerous, brother. I'm sorry.” 

Aoba continues to struggle against Sei's strong grip, until finally he breaks free. Sei tries to reach out and grab him again, but Aoba has already grabbed the broken piece of umbrella from before, and run out the door. 

“Clear?!” Aoba calls. A gasp gets caught in his throat when he sees three, no four zombies surrounding Clear. He runs over to Clear and stabs the broken umbrella piece straight through one of the zombies head. The other three stop their assault on Clear and stare up at Aoba. Aoba gets on his feet and backs up from the zombies. They follow suit after him and Aoba stabs the one closest to him. It falls to the ground and one of the other zombies trips on its body. Aoba takes the chance to stab that one as well, bending down to pull his weapon back out of the zombie's head, but as he goes to straighten up, the last remaining zombie grabs onto his shirt. Aoba starts to panic and his weapon falls from him hand, and he falls down to the ground with it. He closes his eyes and waits for the pain that comes from a zombie's teeth biting through his skin, but it never comes. Instead, he hears footsteps running close to his head and he looks up. 

Sei is running towards him, a butcher's knife in one hand. He stabs the zombie on top of Aoba and Aoba pushes it off. Sei kneels down next to Aoba, panic evident on his face. 

“Aoba? Aoba! Are you okay?” 

Aoba nods. “I'm fine, Sei. It's okay n-.” His sentence is cut off when all of the air in his body is forced out from the force of Sei's arms around his body. 

“I was so scared.” He cries. “I thought you were going to die.” 

Aoba smiles. “I'm safe now. All thanks to you, Sei. But, you're starting to squeeze the life out of me.” 

Sei breaks the hug and smiles sheepishly. “Sorry.” 

Aoba sits up. “Don't worry about it.” He gets to his feet and looks over at Clear. “Oh god.” He runs over and drops to his knees in front of Clear's body. “Clear? Clear!” 

Sei sits down next to him and his eyes widen. “Aoba, h-he's-.” He gently touches Clear's arm and skin flakes off, revealing more of the cybernetic skeleton underneath.

“An android.” Clear rasps quietly. 

Aoba looks up, tears streaming down his face. “Clear? Why didn't you tell us?” 

Clear raises one of his arms, the one that was still covered with the fake skin, to gently wipe away Aoba's tears. “Sorry, Aoba-san. I didn't want you and Sei-san to hate me.” 

Aoba lets out a sob at that and clutches at Clear's hand. “We wouldn't have. We wouldn't have hated you.”

Clear nods. “I'm sorry.” He looks over at Sei. “Sei-san, can I make a last request?” 

“Of course.” 

“Please take off my gas mask. I want you and Aoba-san to see my face while I'm still alive.” 

Aoba gasps. "D-don't say that!"

Clear smiles sadly and Sei complies, unstrapping the mask behind Clear's head and gently pulling it off. A small gasp escapes Sei's mouth when he sets the gas mask down. 

Aoba looks up. “Clear, y-you're-.”

“Am I hideous? Is my face abnormal?” Clear asks, tears shining in his bright pink eyes. 

“No,” Aoba breathes out, “no, Clear, you're beautiful. You look just like a human, there's nothing abnormal about you.” 

Clear's face lights up and he smiles. “Thank you, Aoba-san.” He looks to Sei. “Sei-san.” His eyes lose the brightness that was once present and his body stills. 

Aoba lays his head on Clear's chest and lets out a sob. Sei rubs Aoba's back soothingly and lets Aoba stay with Clear for a few more minutes before he says something. 

“Aoba.” Sei says softly, breaking the silence that had settled between the two. “We should get inside. We can figure out what to do in the safety of the house.” 

Aoba nods and wipes his face with his sleeves. Sei helps him up off the ground and they both look down at Clear. 

“I can carry him inside.” Sei says. “I'm stronger than I look.” 

Aoba steps back to give him room and Sei hitches up Clear's body, carrying him on his back. Aoba grabs Clear's gas mask and walks behind Sei, making sure Clear doesn't fall from his grip, and they both walk back into the house. Aoba closes and locks the door behind them and Sei sets Clear down on the couch. 

“What should we do now?” Sei asks as he watches Aoba sit down next to Clear's body. 

“I can fix him. I've fixed Ren plenty of times before, it shouldn't be too difficult.” 

“Maybe we can get someone else to fix him?” Sei suggests hesitantly. “Maybe Noiz?” 

Aoba looks up at him. “We can't get a hold of him.” 

“Have you tried your Coil?” 

Aoba turns on his Coil. “I can actually use it now. That's strange. How did you know it would work?” 

Sei smiles. “I had a feeling someone knocked down the security walls that block Coil access in Oval Tower.I'm still connected to that place, and as weird as it sounds, can sometimes feel what it feels.” He shrugs it off, “It might have been Noiz. Call him.” 

Aoba scrolls through his contacts until Noiz's name pops up. He presses call, and a little light screen displaying the words Sound Only pops up. After a few rings, Noiz answers. 

“Hello?” 

“Noiz! You're okay! Where are you, we'll come get you.”

“I just left Platinum Jail, where are you? I'll just come to you.” 

Aoba taps his chin. “Hmm, we're at Clear's grandfather's house, it's kind of in a hidden place. It would be hard to find without someone-.” 

“Is it hidden by a giant trash heap?” 

“Yeah, that's- wait how did you-.” There's a knock at the door. 

“I'm here.” Aoba hears from the Coil and from outside. Aoba hops up from the couch and practically throws the front door open. He smiles at Noiz and before Noiz has a chance to react, Aoba pulls him into a hug. 

“I'm so glad you're okay.” 

Noiz looks over to Sei for help and Sei smiles softly. 

Aoba pulls away and looks around and behind Noiz. “Where's Mizuki?” 

Noiz's face pales as he remembers everything that happened just hours ago. “He got bit.” 

Aoba gasps. “Oh god.” 

“He mentioned you before he died. He wants you and Koujaku to tend to the Black Needle.” 

Aoba nods, sniffling softly. 

Sei speaks up. “What about Dry Juice?” 

“He wants me to look after them." Noiz shrugs, like it's no big deal to him. "Make sure they don't get into any trouble.” 

Aoba smiles. “He must have really cared for you.” 

Noiz looks away from Aoba's soft gaze. “What's that supposed to mean?” 

“Dry Juice was his family, we wouldn't let just anyone take care of them.” 

Noiz puts a hand in front of his face, finally letting himself breakdown, and Aoba pulls him into another hug. “It's alright, shh, it's alright now.” Noiz cries as quietly as he can into Aoba's shoulder and Aoba rubs his back soothingly. 

“I tried saving him.” Noiz says so quietly Aoba has to strain to hear him. “I put him through so much pain and it didn't even work.” 

“You did a good job. You manged to keep him alive for a while and that's all that matters. I'm sure Mizuki wouldn't want to see you crying over him. I'm sure he'd want us all to celebrate the life that he had over a drink at the Black Needle.” 

Noiz sniffles and nods. “When all of this is over, let's do that.” 

Aoba smiles gently. “Of course we will.” 

After getting Noiz, to calm down Aoba explains his and Sei's problem. 

“I can fix him. It just might take some time.” 

“Take as long as you need, I'm just glad that you can fix him.” 

“Shouldn't be too hard.” Noiz carefully flips Clear so he's resting on his stomach, and presses on the small off his back to open up the maintenance panel on his back. “By the way, if you need to make any phone calls, now's the time to do it. You should have enough signal to call anyone on the island.” 

“Like Koujaku or Mink?” 

Noiz nods.

“Were you the one that knocked down the walls of security that Trip and Virus put up?” Sei asks from his spot on the floor.

Noiz looks up from Clear's maintenance panel “Yeah, how'd you know?” 

“Just a guess.” 

Aoba sits down on the couch next to Clear and Noiz, pulling up Koujaku's number on his Coil. It rings a few times before he gets through. 

“Hello?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noiz breaks down and Coils are now usable! yay! 
> 
> please look forward to Koujaku and Mink finally appearing in the next chapter!


	6. Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh ive had so much stuff to take care of that ive been too busy to have as many chances to write this like i normally do 
> 
> enjoy!

Koujaku looks around the dark and stuffy empty building that he guesses was once used as the Rib team Scratch’s headquarters, according to the tag art on the ground, and he wonders why they had to use this building, of all places, as their safe house. The cracks in the crumbling walls set his nerves on edge.

“So,” Koujaku starts, trying to make conversation, “where is everyone?”

Mink doesn't even look over at him and Koujaku was about to repeat himself, unsure of whether or not Mink had heard him, when Mink answers, “Gone. They couldn't handle all of this so they left.”

“Oh.” Koujaku sighs. It's really hard to keep up a conversation with this guy.

“What about you?” Mink asks suddenly, startling Koujaku.

“Huh?”

“Your teammates. What happened to them,” Mink elaborates.

Koujaku looks down at his feet. “There was a break in by a horde, we were surrounded. We didn't have a chance against them. I'm lucky I even made it out alive.”

Mink makes a soft grunt of what sounds like understanding in the back of his throat and the conversation is dropped again.

“Will this place hold?” Koujaku asks, looking around the almost crumbling building. There's cracks in the walls and on the floors, and the doors shake with the slightest breeze. This place was really let go. “Against the zombies, I mean. I don't think I can deal with more of them breaking in.” Koujaku worries.

“It should.” And the way Mink grips his axe makes Koujaku feel uneasy, but he doesn't let himself think about it too much.

“We'll be fine, Red.” Mink reassures when he senses Koujaku's unease.

Koujaku just nods.

~

As the seconds tick by, Koujaku could sense their impending deaths getting closer and closer.

Despite what Mink had said, Koujaku knew it wasn't going to be fine, he could hear the horde outside, growing in volume with their groans and growls as they got closer to their hiding spot and they were just stuck here like sitting ducks.

“Mink, we're going to die.” Koujaku says, the hand holding his blood covered sword shaking slightly.

Mink looks over at him. “Red-.”

“No!” Koujaku interrupts. “No, you can't change this. I'd rather die by my own hands than by those undead freaks out there.” He grips his sword tightly. “If you make it out of here alive, make sure you find Aoba. Tell him it isn't his fault, it never was.” He laughs, but Mink can tell it isn't genuine. “I'm sure he'll blame himself, so just tell him that for me.”

Mink goes to grab Koujaku's sword out of his hands, but Koujaku's Coil rings suddenly, startling the both of them. Koujaku's sword falls from his hands has he looks down at his Coil. He takes it off his wrist and reads the name displayed on the screen. His knees buckle and give out, causing him to fall to the ground along with his Coil.

“I-it's Aoba.” Koujaku says shakily.

Mink picks up the Coil and presses answer. “Hello?”

“ _Mink? Is that you? Where's Koujaku?_ ” Aoba's voice comes from the Coil and and a silent sob shakes Koujaku's body. 

Mink looks down at him, and sighs. “He's busy.”

“ _Busy, doing wh- never mind. Are you two okay? Where are you guys?_ ” There's another voice that joins in along Aoba's, and Mink barely registers him as the maniac. “ _We can just track the GPS in the old man's Coil. Now that everything is running and you have a solid connection with his Coil, it should work._ ”

“ _Did you hear that Mink?”_ Aoba asks.

“Yeah.”

“ _Okay, we're setting it up now. We should get your coordinates and you should get ours.”_ A few seconds go by and Aoba speaks up again. _“Your at your team's headquarters! Did you get our coordinates?”_

“Yeah, you're in the middle of some trash pile.”

“ _We're at Clear's grandfather's house! Don't be rude!”_

Mink sighs _. “_ We'll be there soon. _”_

“Wait!” Koujaku calls from the floor. “Wait, let me talk to him.” Mink hands him his Coil and he smiles gratefully. “Aoba?”

“ _Koujaku! Are you alright?”_

Koujaku nods, although he knows Aoba can't see him. “Yeah, I'm okay now. What about you? Where's Mizuki?”

“ _I'm good, too.”_ There's a slight pause before Aoba answers his second question. _“H-he got bit.”_

“What?! Was no one looking after him?!"

“ _I was.”_ Noiz speaks up. _“He was looking for something to keep the doors shut against the zombies and I-.”_

“You let him get bit? I should've known it was you!”

“ _Koujaku!”_ Aoba yells.

“ _I tried saving him! I didn't mean for him to get bit, okay?”_ His voice breaks and there's a short silence before he speaks again. _“Don't just fucking assume things.”_

Koujaku sighs. “Look, I'm-.”

A voice cuts him off and this time it's Aoba's. _“Just follow the directions we sent you, okay? We'll be here.”_ There's an electronic click and the call is ended.

Koujaku fastens his Coil back on his wrist and looks up at Mink. “Guess we should get going.”

Mink walks towards the exit of the building without a word and Koujaku's grateful for it. Mink stops Koujaku from walking through the door, and instead walks out himself. Koujaku's confused for a second before Mink motions for him to walk out.

“All clear.” He says.

Koujaku nods. He walks outside and pulls the directions up on his Coil. He looks around. “It says we have to take a left at this next street and then a right afterward.”

Minks nods and starts walking.

Koujaku sighs, this is going to be a long walk.

~

The silence is almost deafening, Koujaku thinks as he follows behind Mink. They've been walking for a little over an hour and Koujaku was close to losing it. The directions didn't come with an estimate of how long it would take to get there, so now the both of the are just hoping they'll get there before the sun sets.

“What's the next set of directions?”

“We have to take a left here, and then, wait.” He tries scrolling down, but there's nothing else there. “There's nothing else left.”

“Hm.” Mink walks on ahead, turning the corner. He hears a sudden commotion and there's a voice that he's been aching to hear in person and not on the phone.

“Mink! You're okay!”

Koujaku runs down the street and turns the corner, running right to the source of the voice.

“Koujaku! I was just starting to ge- ah!”

Koujaku scoops Aoba off of his feet and into a tight hug. Aoba's feet are lifted off the ground and his legs point upwards as he lets out a high pitched squeak.

“I missed you so much.” Koujaku whispers into Aoba's chest.

Aoba's cheeks flare. “Y-you stupid hippo! Let me down!”

Koujaku laughs and lets Aoba's feet rest back down on the ground. Aoba glares at him.

The front door opens and Noiz steps out. Now it's Koujaku's turn to glare.

Noiz looks between Mink and Koujaku. “You two look like shit.”

Koujaku grits his teeth. “I could say the same thing about you, brat.”

Noiz raises an eyebrow. “I bet I still look better than you, old man.”

Mink walks into the house, avoiding whatever shit Koujaku and Noiz are going to start. Aoba rolls his eyes as the two and grabs both of the by their arms, dragging them into the house.

“Enough fighting.”

Koujaku looks around. “Where's Clear?”

“He got into some trouble earlier. I fixed him up and he's offline and resting in his bed.” Noiz answers.

Koujaku's about to say something along the lines of “don't let him die, too.” but the all knowing glare he gets from Aoba keeps his mouth closed tight. “Wait,” He pauses for a second, “Offline?”

Noiz looks over at him. “Yeah, he got attacked by some zombies earlier. Some of his connecting wires were damaged and his healing unit was messed up so I have to keep him offline so he can heal.”

There's a beat and Koujaku blinks. “What?! He's not human?”

Noiz sits down on the couch next to Sei and snorts. “Took you long enough to realize.”

Aoba leaves Koujaku at the front door to process what he just heard and sits down on the remaining spot on the couch.

“So, we should probably come up with a plan, right?” Aoba asks.

Sei nods. “That would be the best thing to do.”

Noiz fixes his position on the couch to face the two brothers. “I think I have an idea. Back when I was in Platinum Jail, I hacked into the Oval Tower's servers and found files on all of us. But, when I tried to get into the old man's files, my stuff blue screened.”

“Are you trying to say I have something to do with this?” Koujaku asks from his spot at the front door.

“Just sit down and listen.” Noiz says. Aoba motions for Koujaku to sit on the bar stool next to the one Mink is sitting on. When he sits down, Noiz continues.

“I think there might have been some files that were supposed to be secret kept behind our files. That's why everything crashed, because those yakuza guys set it up so if I got too close to them, everything would crash.”

“So?” Koujaku asks. “What does that mean to us?”

“ _So_ , it means that I need to get back into Platinum Jail. I need to find out what's behind those files. It might be something that can help us with the shitty situation we're in right now.”

“Wait, enough with the “I” stuff. You're not going alone, Noiz.” Aoba says sternly.

Noiz grimaces. “Why? I've made it in and out of their just fine before.”

“Yes, but this time it's different now. You had no choice before. You have people that are willing to go with you so you don't have to go alone.”

Sei smiles. “I might be useful in getting in again. I doubt Virus and Trip will let you in so easily again.”

Koujaku looks away. “I'll go if I have to.”

Mink nods. “I'll go.”

A small smile makes its way to Noiz's face before he can stop it and Aoba grins.

“See? You can count on us.” Aoba wraps Noiz in a hug and Noiz groans, trying to pull away.

Koujaku goes to intervene when Aoba lets go of Noiz and smiles brightly. Noiz rolls his eyes.

Aoba sits fully back down on the couch. “So, now we need a plan for all of us getting into Platinum Jail.”

“I can be a decoy.” Sei speaks up. Aoba goes to protest, but Sei holds up a hand and smiles at his brother. “I'll be fine, brother. If Virus and Trip find out that I'm in Platinum Jail, they'll be more focused on trying to find me than on their computer security. Then, Noiz could break into their main computer room and try and find the files.”

“I'll do it too.” Aoba says. “I'll go be a decoy along with you.” He grimaces. “They are my biggest fans after all.”

“Mink and I can attack any guards that come.” Koujaku offers.

Aoba looks over to Mink. “Are you fine with that?”

Mink shrugs. “I'll do what I can.”

Aoba claps his hands together. “Great, then it's settled! We should get some rest tonight and start the plan tomorrow.”

After everyone agrees, they all work on sleeping arrangements. Aoba and Sei sleep on the couch again, Noiz sleeps upstairs on Clear's bedroom floor to keep and eye on the android, and Mink and Koujaku insist on taking on the task of keeping a look out for any zombies or hordes.

~

After three hours of being on watch and having nothing exciting happen, Koujaku is ready to pass out. He nods off a few times before catching himself and looking around to make sure no one saw him.

Mink pretends he doesn't notice it happen, but after the fifth time he decided to bring it up.

“Red, if you need to sleep-.”

“No!” Koujaku interrupts. “No, I'm fine.”

Mink raises an eyebrow ad Koujaku repeats himself. He sighs. “How about we go outside?” Mink suggests. “We can get some fresh air.”

Koujaku agrees and they both grab their axe and sword, respectively, and head outside. They both lean up against the side of the house and Mink looks up at the starry night sky. Koujaku swears he sees a small smile on Mink's face and he decides to look at the sky too. With most of Platinum Jail's lights turned off, it was easier to see the sky. Koujaku's sees stars and constellations he's never seen before and he can't help but smile.

“It's pretty, isn't it?” Koujaku asks and Mink nods.

There's a small noise from inside the house and Koujaku turns to look at the doorway. Aoba shuffles out, wrapped up in a blanket and rubbing his eyes.

He yawns. “What're you guys doing out here?” He asks sleepily.

Koujaku smiles lightly. “I could ask you the same thing, Aoba.”

“The door was open, I was worried.”

“We just decided to get some fresh air.” Aoba nods and hikes the blanket up, keeping it from touching the ground. “Did you leave Sei without a blanket?”

“No, I just grabbed another one from the ottoman.” He yawns again.

“Maybe you should go back to bed? Come on, I'll walk you back to the couch.” Koujaku offers his arm and Aoba holds onto it as they walk back inside.

Mink pulls out a cigarette and lights it while Koujaku tries to will Aoba into going back to sleep. He blows out a puff of smoke and watches as Aoba tries as hard as he can to settle back down onto the couch without waking Sei up. Sei's eyes opening up slowly and Aoba lets out a yell of defeat.

A small smile stretches across his features, as Mink shakes his head at the scene.

~

Once the night passes, and the sun starts to rise, Koujaku and Mink set about waking everyone up. Koujaku wakes the twins up, much to Aoba's discomfort.

“Five more minutes.” He groans.

Sei is already up, ready, and making breakfast for everyone by the time Koujaku manages to will Aoba off the bed.

Mink is about to go upstairs to wake up Noiz, when someone runs down the stairs.

“Wait, Sei-san! You don't have to do that!” Sei turns to look at the voice and the spatula in his hand is suddenly pulled away.

“C-Clear? You're okay?”

“Yes, I am fully functional, Sei-san! Noiz-san must have done a good job fixing me, because even my regeneration unit is working.”

Noiz wasn't able to fix Clear on the outside, such as the spots where he was bit and his skin was missing, showing the wires underneath, but he had managed to get everything fully operational on the inside.

Speaking of, Mink comes back down the stairs with Noiz following behind him. “Clear, I said not to over exert you body. Your skin will take even longer to grow back if you don't rest.”

“Aw, but Noiz-san-!” Clear whines.

“No buts.” He grabs the spatula from Clear's hands and gives it back to Sei, who takes it back a little hesitantly. Noiz guides Clear to the couch and tells him to stay put. Clear pouts but does what he's told.

Once Sei finishes making breakfast, he and Aoba hand out plates piled high with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and toast to everyone.

They all sit down and go over their plans once more while enjoying their breakfast. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> operation infiltrate Platinum Jail and trick Trip and Virus into letting us in Oval tower is underway!


	7. Antidote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three cheers for a chapter thats finally longer than two thousand words! (its only a little over 3700 words now, but still.)
> 
> before you read this, theres mentions of needles and the act of sticking a needle in someone's arm.
> 
> enjoy!

Getting into Platinum Jail was easy with the help of Aoba and Sei. They called each of the yakuza on their respective Coils and asked them if they could stay with them for safety. Virus and Trip fell for the helpless act the twins put on instantly, not ones for saying no to a willing Aoba and Sei.

Noiz waits in the alleyway him and Mizuki had hid in before, and waits for a text from Aoba to let him know how many guards were posted on in the lobby. After, he got the message, he would have to text Koujaku and let him know.

“ _You know what to do right? Just wait for my signal, then go in and do whatever you have to do to get rid of the security in there. Send me a text whenever you're sure it's clear.”_ Noiz had said to Koujaku and Mink.

Noiz's Coil vibrates on his wrist and he opens the message from Aoba.

_There's no guards... We're on the second floor. Trip told us not to go any higher than the fifth floor, I think there's something worth hiding in there. Check it out._

Noiz types a quick _okay_ and sends it to Aoba. He pulls up Koujaku's number and tells him the situation.

_What do you want us to do, then? Just wait outside?_

_That's a great idea, actually,_ Noiz answers.

Noiz gets another message.

_Whatever, brat._

He's about to write back a smart response, but another message follows.

_Be careful in there._

He shakes his head slightly and turns his Coil off. He grabs one of his bunny cubes from the chain on his pants and turns it on.

“P! Online! Online!”

Noiz puts a finger to his mouth. “I'm going to need you to be quiet for this one.”

“P.” The Usagimodoki whispers.

“I'm going to run into Platinum Jail, and when I reach Oval Tower, I need you to scan the sixth floor and all of the floors that you can reach above it. Got it?”

“P!” The Usagimodoki answers. It pauses for a second before it corrects itself and whispers, “P.” in acknowledgment.

“Good.” Noiz clips his allmate back onto his pants. He peeks around the corner to make sure no one's there, and makes a run for the entrance to Platinum Jail.

~

“So, what's with the sudden change of heart, Aoba-san, Sei-san?” Virus asks, fingers tapping lightly against the wine glass in his hand.

Trip stabs a fork into a slice of cake hard enough for it to clank against the glass plate, making Sei jump. “Yeah, why so sudden?” He holds up the fork to Sei's mouth and Sei shakes his head. Trip shrugs and eats the piece himself.

“N-no reason.” Aoba says. Fuck, they hadn't though this through. Why would they just suddenly come here if they didn't have some ulterior motive?

“Well, no matter, you're both always welcome here with us.”

Aoba let out a quiet sigh of relief at that when his Coil suddenly starts ringing. Sei's eyes widen and Aoba's face pales as Virus narrows his eyes.

“Your Coil is working?”

“Y-yeah, should it not be?” Aoba asks, trying to play dumb.

Trip stabs his fork into the cake slice again and leaves it sticking straight up. He rests his head on his hand.

“You're not working together with that neon green kid, are you?” He asks, staring at Aoba.

“No.” Aoba says and Trip raises an eyebrow. “Well, we were together but a few zombies changed that. We haven't seen him since then.” He lies.

“Hmm.” 

“We're just asking because he broke into some of our files a few days ago. We just want to catch him before he can cause any more trouble for us and himself.” Virus explains.

“Oh.” Aoba says and Virus nods at him before turning to look at Sei. “Sei-san, you've been awfully quiet.”

Sei's eyes stare down at his hands. “N-not really.”

Virus' fingers gently grasp Sei's face, forcing Sei to stare into his electric blue eyes. “It's quite rude not to look at the person you are talking to, Sei-san.”

Aoba grits his teeth, willing himself not to slap Virus' hand away. Sei just nods.

Virus smiles and his grip disappears from Sei's face. “As long as you know.”

~

Noiz's shoes tap noisily against the pavement as he runs down the road towards Oval Tower. The Usagimodoki he asked to scan the floors, vibrates against his leg slightly before it chirps quietly,

“Scan in progress!”

Noiz nods. “What do you see?”

“High activity on floor eleven! Eleven!”

“How about security? Any guards?” Noiz asks, stopping to catch his breath in the shadows of a tall building.

“Negative!”

“Good.” Noiz says. “Thanks.” He takes off running again, this time running until he reaches the Tower.

~

Mink dislodges his axe from a zombies head, and they both watch it fall to the ground, lifeless.

“So much for a safe haven away from the zombies.” Koujaku says,

“We should move. There might be more coming.” Mink warns and Koujaku nods.

“Good idea.”

They both manage to make it a dimly lit building compared to the others, and Koujaku leans up against the wall.

“Any word from the others?” Mink asks.

Koujaku looks down at his Coil. “Yeah, one from the brat.” He opens it and reads it carefully to himself. “He said he's on the eleventh floor, and there might be something worth looking into. He'll text again if he finds anything interesting.”

Mink nods and Koujaku turns his Coil off again.

“Guess we'll jut have to wait and see.”

~

Aoba chokes around the cake being shoved down his throat and tears form in his eyes. How did he get to be in this position, he wonders. The last thing he remembers is sitting down next to Sei. He gasps, where is Sei?! He struggles, looking around wildly for his brother.

There's a grip on his face and he's forced to look up at Trip.

“Keep your eyes on me, Aoba.”

Aoba eyes widen and he tries struggling again.

Trip sighs. “This was easier when you were unconscious. Are you worried about Sei? He's fine if you have to know, look.” He grips Aoba's face again and forces his head to the left where Sei is currently in the same position Aoba is in, except Virus was in Trip's place. And instead of cake, red wine was being forced down Sei's throat, most of it spilling out of his mouth and dripping down his throat.

“See? He's fine.” 

Aoba swallows the clumps of cake in his mouth. “Sei!” He struggles again against Trip's strong grip. “Sei!”

Sei looks up at him with half lidded eyes, and smiles weakly.

Trip clamps a hand over Aoba's mouth. “He's too drunk to form a response.” He smirks. “Two and half bottles of wine will do that to you.”

In a sudden fit of rage, Aoba bites the hand over his mouth. Trip pulls back and slaps Aoba across the face. Aoba grits his teeth and grips his now red cheek.

Trip stands up and walks to the door.

“Leaving already?” Virus asks, pouring more wine into the glass in his hand.

“Mm, I'm tired of him. I've had my fix, see ya.” The door slams shut and Aoba sobs against the floor.

“Aoba-san.” Virus calls. When Aoba looks up, he smiles softly. “Come here.”

Aoba glares at him. “Let go of Sei.”

Virus forces Sei to knock back another glass of wine before letting him drop to the floor.

Aoba runs over to him and holds him against his chest. “Sei.” He sobs.

Sei looks up at him. “You smell sweet.” He giggles.

“He's too drunk to understand the trouble he's in.” Virus says, and Aoba's ready to get angry when a loud alarm suddenly goes off.

Virus looks up and sighs. “That stupid rabbit.” He turns to look at the twins on the floor. “Stay put.”

When the door shuts behind Virus, Aoba scrambles to turn his Coil on. There's a message from Noiz and he opens it.

_The Usagimodoki found high activity on the eleventh floor. That's where I'll be._

That alarm must have been Noiz getting into the files, Aoba thinks.

Aoba smiles down at the sleeping Sei in his lap. He runs his hands through Sei's hair and says, “We're okay now.”

~

Noiz sits down in front of the array of computers and hooks up the Usagimodoki to one of them. His allmate's Rhyme form pops up on the screen and waves at him.

“Search the files behind the ones that are saved under either Koujaku or Mink.” Noiz orders and the allmate turns to face away from him, holding up a paw.

“Roger!”

The other Usagimodoki, the ones with boxing glove-clad paws pop up as well and aid the other with it's search. With the help of all of them, it only takes a few minutes to locate the files.

“Files found! Password needed!”

“Run through any possible passwords until you guess the right one.”

“Roger!” They all chorus and instantly get to work on guessing the password. Noiz goes ahead and tries guessing too, trying everything from _tripvirus_ to _theyakuzarules,_ all to no avail. Eventually one of the Usagimodoki guesses the password, which happens to just be a random set of numbers, much to Noiz's disappointment.

There is only three files contained behind the password, and Noiz clicks through them. The first file is an article dated a few days before the zombie outbreak in Japan, talking about an experiment a group of scientists around the world collaborated on together. From what Noiz gathers from reading the article, the scientists were trying to make a serum to give a person the ability to gain eternal life. His eyebrows raise when he reads Toue's name.

The next file is what looks to be the formula needed to create the eternal life serum. Noiz tells one of the Usagimodoki to save it and clicks onto the next file. It's another article with the same date as the zombie outbreak and Noiz's eyes widen at the words written.

_This may be our last article ever written, so we'll make it a good one. Toue, one of the scientists responsible for the “eternal life serum” has gone into hiding. We believe this is because he is responsible for this outbreak of the undead. The serum that he spent so long working on has created these undead humans instead of forever alive ones, like he had promised. An antidote for this_

Before Noiz has the chance to finish reading about a possible antidote, an alarm goes off.

The door behind him slams open and Trip storms in.

“Tch, should've known it was you, stupid rabbit.” Trip spits.

Noiz's eyes narrow in annoyance. “What do you know about the antidote?”

Virus calmly walks in through the doors and smiles. “Everything, of course. We're the ones that created it.”

“You did? And you haven’t thought to use it?” He pauses and he realizes something. “Was it finished when Mizuki and I were here? Could you have cured him?”

Trip smirks. “Probably. We found his body, by the way. So sad.”

Noiz grits his teeth. “Fuck you.”

“While the offer is tempting, Noiz-san, we're going to need you for something else.” Virus walks closer to Noiz until he's too close for comfort. “You'll be our test subject.”

Before Noiz has the chance to move away, Virus pulls a needle full of an ugly murky looking liquid from his pocket. He grabs Noiz's arm and Noiz tries to pull away from the grip, but Virus is quick to tighten his hold. He presses the needle into the fold of Noiz's arm and empties the liquid into him.

Virus' face is the last thing he sees before his vision goes blurry and his eyes close.

“Goodnight, Noiz-san.”

~

A few hours later, Aoba's starting to get worried. The alarm has all since stopped and the ringing in his ears is gone, but neither Virus and Trip nor Noiz have come.

Sei wakes up suddenly, groaning softly and hands flying to grip his head. He looks up at Aoba. “Brother? What happened?”

“Trip and Virus.” Aoba says and Sei's face pales to white as a sheet.

“T-they didn't... did they?”

“No! No, they didn't. I would never let them do that to you. I guess we were knocked unconscious, because when I opened my eyes, Trip was stuffing cake down my throat and Virus was forcing you to drink wine.”

“How many glasses did he give me?”

Aoba looks away from Sei's face and sighs. “Not glasses, two and a half bottles.”

Sei lets out a gasp and Aoba shakes his head. “I'm so sorry.”

Sei sits up, despite the pain that rips through his head, and wraps his arms around Aoba, smiling. “It's alright.”

Tears well up in his eyes and Aoba sniffles. “'I'm a shitty little brother.”

Sei laughs softly. “Just a little.”

“Hey!” Aoba swats at Sei and Sei giggles. Aoba leans back against the floor and sighs. “You think you're fit to go find Noiz?”

Sei nods. “Where is he?”

“The eleventh floor.”

Sei holds out his arms like a child. “Carry me?”

Aoba rolls his eyes but, complies anyway. “You would think I was the older one.”

Sei laughs. “Onwards! To Noiz!”

~

Noiz wakes up to a dark room and with a dull ache in his head. His body feels strange and his vision is cloudy. He hears a sound to his left, and when he turns to look at the source of the noise, a feeling like electricity shoots down his back. He pushes past the feeling and looks to his left, and instantly wishes he didn't. There's a zombie making its way towards him, fresh looking blood, and smelling Noiz thinks, trying not to gag, dripping from its mouth.

He tries to stand up, but finds his legs are shackled to the floor. He struggles against the shackles, trying to will himself not to panic. It works for a bit too, until the zombie is right in front of him. Its jaw opens up slowly and in the second right before Noiz can let out a gasp, the zombie's teeth rip right through the skin stretched across his shoulder. He lets out at blood curdling scream as his blood sprays across the wall behind him.

The pain is so immense, even his dull senses can feel it. He realizes that this is what Mizuki must have felt and tears start to stream down his face. He tries to push the zombie off, but as soon as he does, a gunshot goes off and the zombie's body collapses on top of him. He pushes it off to see Trip and Virus walking into the room, Trip blowing the smoke from the barrel of the gun in his grasp.

“You did well, Noiz-san.”

“Yeah, except for the crying.” Trip snorts.

Virus ignores him. “Take a look at your shoulder, Noiz-san.”

Noiz is confused at first, but when he looks down at his shoulder, the skin teared away by the zombie has regrown, as if it wasn't torn off in the first place.

He looks back up at Trip and Virus. “H-how...?”

Virus smiles. “Remember the needle? The antidote Trip and I created was in it. It has the ability to make an ordinary human immune to a zombie bite. And, the ability to kill the virus Toue made, resulting in a new, alive person.”

“Wait, could you have saved that zombie? Could you have made him a human again?” Trip smirks and Noiz lip curls in disgust. “You didn't have to shoot him, you just felt like it.”

“Now, Noiz-san, please don't hate us. We can't waste this on an experiment zombie. We'll use the antidote on the rest of the zombies out there, and save them. Hopefully it will help you forgive us.”

“How do you plan on saving every citizen of Japan? Of the _world_?”

“That's where you and your little friends come in, rabbit. You'll be our guinea pigs and use the antidote on yourself, then on any zombie you can find.”

“That'll take forever! You can't expect us to take this on alone.”

“Of course not, Noiz-san! We've thought of that, too. We'll give you a few needles full of the antidote, you inject your friends with it, then you bring them all here. Then the next part of our plans begins.”

“The next part?”

Trip begins to explain now. “Yeah, it involves Rhyme and all of your allmates.” He pauses. “You all have allmates, right?”

“Two of us don't, but I have enough allmates to give everyone two. What does that have to do with anything?”

“We're thinking of luring all of the zombies to Platinum Jail, opening a Rhyme field and then using you and your allmates to inject the antidote into the zombies. And about the rest of the world, if this plan works, we'll send it to every other country.”

Noiz sighs, he has to admit, their plan might work. But working with Trip and Virus causes a feeling of unease to settle over him. He looks up at them. “Okay, I'll do it.”

Virus grins. “Good choice.”

He leaves Platinum Jail with a bag full of needles and an even deeper feeling of unease.

~

Sei sighs after they check the what feels like millionth door on the eleventh floor. “Aoba, I don't think he's here.”

“But my Coil says-.” His sentence breaks off and he lets out a yell. “He's out of Platinum Jail already!”

Sei frowns. “How rude, he didn't even come to look for us.”

Aoba hikes Sei back up onto his back and begins walking back to the elevator.

“Here we are, risking our lives to be decoys, and then he just leaves without even checking to see if we're okay!”

Sei shakes his head. “So mean.”

Aoba snorts. “We have to pretend to be pissed when we see him again.”

“Just ignore everything he says to us.”

Aoba and Sei laugh together as the doors to the elevator close, bringing them down to the lobby of Oval Tower.

~

Noiz spots Koujaku and Mink in their hiding spot and walks up to them.

Koujaku looks him up and down, eyes landing on the bag in his hand. “What's in the bag?”

“Needles.” Noiz says simply.

Koujaku's face pales. “Needles?” He repeats.

Noiz nods, a smirk spreading across his features. “There's one for everyone.”

“There's no way in hell I'm letting you stab me with a needle! How do I know it's not poison?!”

“It's not poison.”

Koujaku raises an eyebrow. “Then what is it?”

“An antidote to make us immune to zombie bites. It can also turn zombies back into their original person. Now, will you please hold out your arm?”

“No fucking way, I can't trust you.”

“I got injected with it earlier, and I'm completely fine.”

“That might just be because you're a freak.”

Noiz groans and pulls a needle from the bag and looks over at Mink. “Mink, hold out your arm.”

Mink sighs but holds his sleeveless arm out anyways. His face twist into pain for a split second when Noiz presses the needle into the fold of his arm, but it quickly goes back to his normal, stoic face. Noiz injects the liquid in, and then pulls the needle back out, dropping it on the ground.

“See? All good.”

Koujaku frowns. “Whatever.” He finally holds his arm out, albeit reluctantly and Noiz pulls it closer to him so he can actually reach it.

Noiz grabs another needle and carefully pokes it into Koujaku's arm.

“Fuck.” Koujaku grits his teeth.

“Don't be a baby.” Noiz says as he injects the antidote in. He pulls the needle out and drops it next to the other one. “You did great, old man. Want a lollipop?”

“Fuck off, brat.”

There's footsteps coming from behind them and they all turn to see Aoba carrying Sei over to their hiding spot.

“Aoba, Sei, good job.” Koujaku says.

Aoba smiles. “Thanks.”

“I thought you guys has come out before me? What were you doing in there?”

Aoba looks up at Sei and Sei shakes his head. Aoba turns his head to the side, looking away from Noiz with a soft “hmph!”

Koujaku snorts. “Looks like they're mad at you.”

Noiz grabs another needle from the bag and walks up to the twins. He grabs Sei's arm, and with the alcohol still in his system, Sei has difficulty pulling away.

He holds up the needle and Aoba backs up. “Noiz! Stop!”

“Hold still.” He quickly pushes the needle into Sei's arm and Sei lets out a soft gasp. He drops the needle and grabs the last one in the bag and presses it into the exposed fold of Aoba's arm.

“You could have at least explained it to them!” Koujaku yells and Noiz just shrugs.

“Whatever, it's done now.”

“What was that?” Sei asks.

“An antidote that Trip and Virus made. It makes us immune to a zombie's bite and it can help turn the zombies back into people.” Noiz looks around. “Where are your allmates?”

“Back with Clear. We didn't want them to get hurt.” Aoba answers.

“I'll send him a message telling him to bring them here.”

Aoba's eyebrows knot together. “I thought he had to rest?”

“He should be fine.”

Aoba frowns. “Noiz, what's gotten into you?”

Noiz glares at him. “What?”

“You seem different.” Sei says and Aoba nods. “Maybe it's an after effect of the antidote?” 

Noiz shrugs. “I don't know.” He turns his Coil on and types a quick message to Clear.

While they wait for Clear, Noiz begins telling them the plan Trip and Virus came up with.

“That sounds stupid.” Koujaku says. “None of us here, except you, has ever even played Rhyme.”

Noiz looks over at Aoba and he grins sheepishly. “I have, actually.”

“I was the model used to create Usui.” Sei says and everyone stares at him.

“It shouldn't be too hard.” Mink pipes up and Noiz nods.

“See? It's just you, old man.”

Koujaku's about to retaliate when there's a sound from the rooftops.

“Everyone! I have your allmates!” Clear yells from the roof. He jumps down, landing in front of the group. Each allmate goes to its owner; Ren scurries over to Aoba, Beni lands on Koujaku's shoulder, and Tori lands on Mink's outstretched arm.

Noiz explains the plan again so Clear can know what's going on, and they all walk back into the gates of Platinum Jail.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> literally all i can say about this chapter is "wow that escalated quickly."


	8. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowie am i late with this update
> 
> ive been on vacation and i was either too busy to write or just wasnt in the mood to write
> 
> but im back now with the second to last chapter!! the next chapter will be the epilogue set maybe a year after the ending of this chapter and i was thinking of maybe writing extras for this story that i couldnt fit in this?? but im not too sure about that yet 
> 
> enjoy!

Virus and Trip turn to look at the group walking into the computer room. Virus smiles and Trip smirks, sending a wave of unease across the group.

“I assume Noiz-san, has explained the details to you all, yes?” Virus asks.

They all nod and Virus smiles again. “That's good.” He turns to look at Sei and Aoba. “It's a shame we couldn't finish our little session together earlier. Maybe someday we can start back from where we ended.” 

Aoba growls and Sei puts a hand on his back, rubbing up and down soothingly to calm him down. “It's alright, brother. We're fine now, right?” He whispers. 

“That still doesn't make it okay.” Aoba harshly whispers back. 

Koujaku looks over at the twins, worry evident on his face. “What did they do to you?” He asks quietly.

Sei gives Aoba a stern look and Aoba sighs, shaking his head at Koujaku. “Nothing.” 

“But-.” Koujaku starts, but Virus continues to talk again. 

“We need to conduct the first part of this plan. We have to lure all of the zombie to us.” Virus turns to look at Noiz. “Noiz-san, you can hack into things very easily, yes?”

Noiz shrugs. “I guess.” 

“You shouldn't be modest about something you're good at.” He smiles and Noiz looks away. “We'll need you to hack into Oval Tower's announcement system. The noise should attract the zombies.” 

Noiz looks between the two yakuza members. “You can't just do it yourselves?” 

“The machine is busted, so we cannot speak into it, but you should still be able hack into the system.” Virus explains.

Noiz sighs. “Whatever.” He sits down on the closest thing, a wooden table, and turns on his Coil. His light screens pop up instantly and he connects one of his bunny cubes to them. When it pops up, waving at him, Noiz says, “See if you can find the announcement system. We need to get it working from my Coil.” 

“Roger!” 

The Usagimodoki gets to work, and a digital map of the inside of Oval Tower pops up, following it's movement. It travels throughout the mainframe of Oval Tower, taking sharp twists and turns. Sei starts to feel sick just watching the screen.

After a few minutes of searching the Usagimodoki stops suddenly at a certain point on the map. 

“Found it! It!” 

“Good job." Noiz praises. "Now see if you can get into it and get it working.” 

“Roger!” 

It takes a few seconds before Noiz has access to the announcement system. He taps his Coil, deciding to test it out. 

“Testing, testing. The yakuza sucks and all of you zombies should come and eat them. Have a good day.” He looks up to gauge their reactions; Virus has an eyebrow raised, and Trip just looks disinterested with everything. 

“Now we wait until we hear growling outside.” Virus says, doing his best to ignore the smirking Noiz beside him. 

It takes about an hour for the hundreds of zombies to come stumbling and growling their way to Oval Tower.

Virus looks over at Sei. “Sei-san, we're going to need your help for this next part. We need you to summon Usui-san and open up a Rhyme field. Her data should still be locked away inside you somewhere.” 

Sei nods and closes his eyes and slows down his breathing, trying to focus. 

“Summoning Usui won't hurt him, will it?” Aoba asks, eyes watching Sei carefully. 

“Do not worry, Sei-san will be fine. He had to do this every time there was a Rhyme match. He is quite used to it by now.” 

Sei's eyes open up slowly and a female figure appears next to him. She looks around until her eyes land on Sei. “Sei, it's been a while.” 

Sei smiles. “Nice to see you again.” 

“Usui-san,” Virus cuts in. “We've called you out for a reason. We're going to need you to do something for us.” 

Her eyes stay trained on Sei's as she says, “What is it?” 

“Open up a Rhyme field for us. We will also need you to fight alongside us. You'll be with Sei-san, of course.” 

She looks over at Virus now. “Of course. When do you want the field opened?” 

Virus does a short sweep of his hand. “Whenever you're ready.” 

She nods and closes her eyes, moving her ten arms into position. Her eyes shoot open and her body glows as the space around them shines with the light of a Rhyme field. 

Her deep voice seems to bounce off the walls as she says, “Rhyme field, release.” 

Everyone's allmates suddenly turn into their online modes, even the ones that have never played Rhyme before. Ren stands taller than Aoba with his long blue cloak and the blue mask covering half of his face, all of Noiz's allmates appear in a line in front of him, boxing glove-clad paws at the ready, Tori stands next to Mink, his light pink hair falling across his back in long tendrils and small braids and a pipe sitting idly in his mouth, and Beni stands next to Koujaku, barely reaching his shoulders. His red hair sticks up like his allmate's and his red outfit almost matches Koujaku's. 

Noiz snorts, “You know, Beni, for the allmate of an old man, you sure look like a little kid.” 

“Shut it brat!” Beni yells.

“How can you see with that mask on, Ren?” Aoba laughs. 

“I can see perfectly fine, Aoba. The mask does not cause me any vision impairments.” Ren answers. 

“Hmm, if you say so.” 

Sei looks around. “Where are your allmates?” He asks Virus and Trip. 

Trip smirks. “Glad you asked.” He snaps his fingers and two tall, dark figures walk in. One has long, fluffy black hair, and the other has long, sleek black hair that's tied back in a ponytail. The one with the fluffy bush of hair smirks at Sei, and a flash of sharp teeth is seen. He walks over to Trip, and Sei assumes that one is Berta. The one with the pony tail has scales up and down his neck and arms, and Sei watches as he walks over to stand next to Virus.

“They'll aid us in our plan too, of course.” Virus says. 

After getting over the initial shock of seeing their allmates in online mode, everyone was assigned to a certain part of Platinum Jail. 

Trip and Virus were at the opening of Oval Tower with extra needles full of antidote just in case anyone ran out, Berta and Hersha were at the entrance of Platinum Jail, Noiz told all of his allmates to run free and get any zombie they could find, Aoba and Ren stood close to each other in the middle, watching each others backs, Mink and Tori split up, Clear seemed to be everywhere at once, asking Aoba if he needed help, grabbing more needles from Trip and Virus, or helping the others, and Sei and Usui were on the top floor of Oval Tower, looking out from the balcony. Everyone agreed that Usui should keep away from the battle, because if she got hurt, the Rhyme field would shatter. Sei protested at first, saying he didn't want to leave Aoba alone, but Ren convinced him he wouldn't let anything, or anyone in this case, hurt Aoba. 

After hours of sticking the zombies with needles, stopping to get refills on the needles, and resuming where they left off, the streets were filled with hundreds of confused looking people covered in blood and wearing torn up clothing. 

Aoba runs past a group of people, mind set on grabbing more refills, when suddenly one of the people on the ground grabs his wrist. He whips around to look at them, and his heart drops; they're a group of people younger than him, maybe even younger than Noiz, and they all look scared. The one who grabbed his wrist is a little girl with a blood covered mouth and a torn up shirt. Tears stream down her face and she lets out a soft, “I-I'm scared, mister.” 

All thoughts of getting refills fly from Aoba's mind as he crouches down to be eye level with the little girl. He smiles softly. “You're safe now.” He holds up a needle and she steps back a little. He quickly puts it away and holds up his hands. “It's alright. The liquid that was in there turned you back into a human. It will also keep you from getting hurt again, okay? You can't turn back into one of them ever again.” 

She smiles and sniffles softy. “Really?” 

He nods. “Really.”

The other members of the group smile at him. “Is there anything we can do to help?” One of them asks. 

“Yeah, if you think you're up for it.” He wipes the blood from the little girl's mouth with his sleeve and picks her up and she giggles as he puts her up on his shoulders. “Follow me.” 

Aoba leads the group over to where Trip and Virus are, and tells them the situation. 

“Is it alright if they help?”

“Of course, Aoba-san.” Virus says, grabbing extra needles for Aoba, and a few for the members of the group. They all nod their heads in thanks. 

Aoba turns back to look at the group. “When you see a zombie, just poke the needle into their skin, wherever you can reach, and press down on the top of the needle to release the antidote inside of them. Got it?” 

They all nod and Aoba smiles. 

“Great! If you need any help just look for the man with white hair and pink eyes. He'll be able to help you with whatever you need. And if you run out of needles, just come back here for more.” 

The group starts walking, setting off on their task. 

Aoba looks back over at Trip and Virus. “I think I'm going to go bring this little one up to Sei and Usui so she's out of combat.”

“Good idea, Aoba-san. We should start taking any children we find up to those two.” 

He starts walking further into the entrance of Oval Tower, and the little girl starts playing with strands of his hair.  
“You're hair is a strange color.” 

Aoba snorts. “I'd say your light green hair is pretty strange too.” 

She giggles and Aoba smiles.

“So, what's your name?” Aoba asks. 

“Mizuki.” 

Aoba's eyes widen. “Really? I had a friend named Mizuki.” 

Mizuki tilts her had to the side. “Were they like me?” 

“Well, he was older than you, and he had dark burgundy hair. So in appearances, not really. He was a good friend, I'm sure without him and Noiz, none of us would be here right now.” 

She claps her hands together. “Ooh, he sounds like a hero!” 

Aoba laughs. “Yeah, you could say that.” 

He steps into the elevator, ducking down a little so Mizuki doesn't hit her head on the top. He goes to press the button that will bring them up to the highest point of Oval Tower, but Mizuki lightly grabs onto his arm before he can. He looks up at her. 

"Mizuki?""

Her eyes look away from his, darting everywhere but at him. "C-can I press the button?" 

Aoba stares at her for a second before laughing. "Of course you can." He bends down so she can reach the button, and she presses it with vigor. 

She laughs. "I did it!" 

Aoba smiles. "Good job." 

She looks out the glass elevator as it starts moving upwards. The elevator goes up higher and higher and Mizuki lets out a gasp.

“Look, you can see everything from here!” 

Aoba has to hold onto her legs to keep her from falling as she leans as far as she can to look outside. 

The elevator door a opens up with a sharp noise a few seconds later.

Aoba looks up at Mizuki. “Ready to meet my brother?” 

She nods. “Yeah!” 

Aoba smiles and opens up the door leading to the balcony Sei and Usui are currently standing on. Sei turns to look at him and smiles when he sees Mizuki. He walks up to her and holds out a hand. 

“Nice to meet you. I'm Sei.” 

She takes his hand and shakes it gently. “Mizuki.” 

Sei's eyebrows raise slightly and he looks over at Aoba. Aoba smiles. 

Usui walks over and Mizuki is instantly transfixed with her. 

“Wow, you have ten arms!” 

Usui smiles. “I can make a place for you sit out of them, want to see?” Mizuki nods excitedly and Usui positioned her arms in a way that would make for comfortable seating. Sei helps Mizuki up and she rests back against Usui's chest. 

“You're really comfy.” Mizuki lets out a content sigh, before promptly falling asleep in Usui's arms. 

Aoba smiles. “She's had a rough day.” 

Sei nods. “Will you be bringing all the children up here?” 

“Yeah, when I find them, I'll bring them all to you. Think you can handle it?” 

Sei raises an eyebrow. “I'm more than capable.” 

“Alright then, see ya!” 

“Be careful out there.” Sei says as Aoba reaches the door. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Aoba waves. 

He takes the elevator back down and walks back out to Platinum Jail. Clear suddenly comes running up towards him. 

“Aoba-san! Where did you go?” He asks, squeezing Aoba into a tight hug. 

“I-I was with S-Sei, Clear, Clear! I can't breathe!” Aoba gasps out. 

Clear unwraps his arms immediately. “Oh, sorry, Aoba-san. What were you doing with Sei-san?”

“I brought up a little girl up to him and Usui. We decided that if we see any little kids, we'll bring them up to Sei and out of harm's way.” 

“Ooh, can I help?” 

Aoba thinks for a second before nodding at Clear. “Sure, it would make things go a lot quicker.” 

“Okay! I'm on it!” 

With the help of the android, who was able to carry three kids at once, him and Aoba rounded up the children pretty quickly. Usui entertained them all with her arms and Sei let a few of them style his hair. 

As Aoba runs out of Oval Tower to look for anyone else that might still need to be given the antidote, he's stopped by Virus. 

“Aoba-san, I believe everything has been taken care of.” 

Aoba blinks. “Oh, really? That was fast. Are you sure there's no one else that needs the antidote?” 

“No, everyone has been turned back. We have the ability to check on our Coils, and every citizen is back to normal.” Both Virus and Trip hold up their Coils and Aoba sees a counter of what he guesses must be a tally of the citizens living in Midorijima.

Virus and Trip stand up abruptly and Aoba takes a cautious step back. 

“We shall take our leave now, Aoba-san. That next part of our plan begins now.” 

“Are you going to send out the antidote to every other country now?” 

Virus nods. “Yes. Goodbye for now, Aoba-san.” 

Trip waves. “Bye bye, Aoba.”

Aoba watches as they head for the entrance into Oval Tower until they walk out of his sight. Aoba guesses they're heading for the computer room.

He looks around at everyone; there's people cowering in the streets, people up against the walls, looking sick, people helping others to sit down or walk properly. He starts walking around, looking for the members of his group. He spots Beni and Tori working together to help a girl who got stuck under some rubble and a small smile works its way to his face when he sees the two allmates helping each other. He finds Ren in a similar situation, trying to help a man who must have lost one of his legs while he was a zombie, stay upright on a wall. 

Aoba looks up at the top of Oval Tower. He decides that everything is under control here, and he starts walking up towards where Sei and Usui are. 

~

Sei turns at the sound of footsteps and smiles when Aoba comes in. He holds a finger to his mouth and points towards Usui. She's currently sitting up against the wall, her eyes closed and her mouth open slightly in peaceful sleep. The kids Clear and Aoba rescued are all surrounding her, some sleeping in her arms and lap, some sleeping on the floor next to her. 

Aoba motions for Sei to follow him outside. Sei closes the door behind him and look at Aoba. 

“Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, I'm fine. I just came to tell you that everyone seems to be been cured. Trip and Virus went to send out the antidote to every infected country. Also, is there any way we can access the public announcement system using our Coils? I want to let all the survivors know everything is okay now, and that we'll probably begin restoration of everything soon.”

Sei holds up his Coil. “We should be able to...” He trails off as he presses a few buttons. Aoba hears the microphone feedback from outside and smiles. Sei holds out his Coil for Aoba to speak into and Aoba clears his throat. 

“Um, hello, survivors! My name is Aoba and I just wanted to let everyone know that you are all safe now. The antidote we injected you with will keep you safe from anymore zombies that might show up. N-not that anymore should show up! I just want you all to feel safe knowing that you can't get turned into a zombie again. A-anyways, we will all work together to help restore Midorijima. If anyone wants to take on specific jobs, like help restore buildings, or help any of the wounded, please feel free! We will take all the help with can get.” He looks over at Sei and Sei gives him a thumbs up. “U-uh, I think that's all. Goodbye!” He turns the Coil off and sighs. 

“That was hard.” 

Sei tries to hold in a laugh, but fails miserably, and Aoba glares at him. 

“What's so funny?” 

Sei snorts. “I didn't think you of all people would be nervous while speaking to a crowd of people.” 

“W-well, it's not my fault!” He pouts and Sei bursts out laughing again. 

Aoba smacks him playfully on the arm. “Shh, jerk. You'll wake up the kids.” 

Sei wipes the corners of his eyes. “Y-you're right, sorry.” 

Aoba grabs Sei's arm and drags him to the elevator. “Come on, we should go help with restoration, too.” 

Sei smiles. “Yeah, you're right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how did Trip and Virus make enough needles to turn back every resident???
> 
> the world may never know


	9. Epilogue: Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we did it, readers! you survived reading this fic, and i survived writing it 
> 
> it sure has been a wild ride and at fifty six pages and over twenty thousand words, this is the longest fic ive ever written and im glad i got to share it with you all!
> 
> since the last chapter wasnt up for a while, i figured i'd update as quickly as possible with this one (even though i dont wanna let this fic go ((which is why im writing an extra chapter that really didnt have room in this fic B)))
> 
> enjoy and thanks for all the kudos and comments! i couldnt have asked for any better readers than you uwu

After a year of the citizens of Midorijima working together on restoration efforts, the city was beginning to look new again. 

Most of the citizens formed groups to work on different projects together. Whether it was working on fixing or creating new buildings, or volunteering to clean up the streets, or helping with the feeding and keeping clean of everyone. 

Sei figured out a way to keep Usui out even when a Rhyme field wasn't present, and together with some of the other residents, they built a safe place for the children of the zombie apocalypse. They've managed to help almost all of the children find their ways back to their parents. All of them except for the little girl Aoba rescued, Mizuki. 

Usui styled Mizuki's hair at the little girl's request up into two high ponytails just like Usui's hair. The last time Aoba visited the group, Mizuki had run up to him shouting, “Rhyme field, release!” in the deepest voice she could manage. 

Aoba and Koujaku man the Black Needle together along with Clear. When he's not working at the bar, Koujaku sets up his own shop and continues cutting hair again, just like before. He's still as popular as he was before and Aoba pokes fun at him all the time because of it. 

Mink works together along with Tae at the local hospital. They treat any patients that may have lost any limbs during all of this, or if they might be showing signs of turning again. Mink had come to the solution that the headaches and fevers were thankfully just an after effect of the antidote. 

And Noiz does exactly what Mizuki had asked him to do, watch over and take care of Dry Juice for him. Miraculously, all of the members of the team managed to survive, granted some had either lost an arm or a leg, or some were pretty beat up. They were all devastated when he told them Mizuki hadn't made it. Surprisingly, none of the team members hated him like he had expected them too. They all sat together and talked about Mizuki for hours on end. They all thanked him for being there for Mizuki and said they didn't blame him for what happened. They admitted they had hated him and his Rhyme team before, but after getting to know him, they were glad he was the last one to be with Mizuki. If anyone asked, Noiz definitely didn't start crying because of their kindness. 

They sometimes fight Rhyme and Rib matches together and the look on the team's faces when they saw their allmates in online mode for the first time was priceless for Noiz. He wishes Mizuki could see them together like this now. 

After letting them win a match in Rhyme Noiz decides to take a visit to the Black Needle. 

The small copper bell on the door above his head rings as he walks in and Aoba and Clear look up at him from their places behind the bar.

“Noiz!” Aoba grins. 

“Noiz-san!” Clear yells and runs up to hug him. Noiz doesn't move to wrap his arms around the android but he doesn't make a move to pull away from the hug, either. Aoba smiles at them. 

Noiz looks around. “Where's the old man?” 

Clear lets him go when a customer walks in and Aoba answers his question.

“Out cutting hair. You know, your hair's starting to get a little shaggy. Maybe you should get a hair cut from him. He might even give it to you for free.” 

Noiz snorts. “Yeah, right.” 

Aoba shakes his head, smiling. “Robin's in the back.” 

Noiz nods. “Thanks.” He walks to the back part of the Black Needle, the tattoo parlor. 

The apprentice turned tattoo manager after Mizuki's death sitting at her personal desk looks up at him. “Ah, Noiz, you're back again. That marks the fifth day." She takes off her thick, black rimmed glasses, setting them down on the counter and rubs at her eyes. She looks up at Noiz, smirking. "If I didn't know any better, I'd start to think you were interested in me.” She snorts. “Too bad I'm gay, kid.” 

Noiz rolls his eyes. “Don't worry, I'm not interested.” He sits down at one of the chairs and one of Robin's thick, pierced eyebrows raises.

“You finally getting a tattoo?” 

He nods. “Yeah.”

Her bright orange hair bobs as she jumps up from her desk and walks over to Noiz. She puts a set of gloves on and gets to work on sterilizing the needle.

“What're you, nineteen?" Robin asks, making conversation. "Mizuki would kill me if he knew I was inking you.” 

“Why, the-.” 

“Legal age is eighteen, yeah I know. He just had a thing about not tattooing anyone under twenty-one. 'If you aren't old enough to drink my alcohol, you aren't old enough to get a tattoo.'” She shrugs. “That's always what he used to tell me.”

“What a prude.” Noiz says, and Robin glares at him. He shrugs his shoulders lightly. “Don't tell him.” 

She smiles. “I won't.” 

Noiz leans back in the chair and holds out his arm. 

“So, what are we getting today, Noiz?” She asks, sitting down on the small stool next to his chair. 

“The skull from the Dry Juice logo.” Noiz answers easily. 

She pauses her movements to look up at him.“Noiz...” 

Emerald meets lime green as his eyes move up to meet with hers. He smiles softly, pointing to the spot above the fold of his arm. 

“Right here. It's where I had to cut his arm from.” 

She sighs. “You're kind of a romantic there, eh, Noiz-kun?” She teases.

“Cutting off an arm doesn't seem very romantic to me.” Noiz deadpans. 

She frowns, “No, I meant-.”

“I know.” He cuts in. The look on his face almost breaks Robin's heart.

"Alright, no need to elaborate." She lightly grabs Noiz's arm with one hand and holds the needle in the other. “One Dry Juice skull, coming right up.” She grabs all of her supplies and sets it all down on the small table next to her stool. She pulls her stool closer and takes a seat, turning the electric needle on and positioning it over Noiz's arm. Noiz barely registers the needle pressing to his skin, and his eyes stay locked on the professional movement of Robin's hand. 

She looks up at him. "How're you feeling?" 

Noiz snorts. "Can't feel a thing, Rob." 

She pauses her movements before her eyes go wide and she smacks her forehead. "Shit, I forgot!" She laughs and Noiz smiles.

"Keep going, I won't need you to take any breaks." 

"Aye, aye!" 

With the small size of the tattoo and Noiz's dulled sense of feeling, the tattoo only takes a short amount of time for Robin to complete. 

She turns the needle off and the loud buzzing stops, causing the air around them to sound too quiet. She sets it down and grabs something from her desk. She pulls a piece of it from the box and moves to tie it tightly around Noiz's bleeding tattoo.

“All done. It's Seran wrap.” She says as Noiz continues to stare at the plastic around his arm. "It's to keep the tattoo from getting infected from touching it or from the air." Noiz nods and her face suddenly turns stern. “And remember, just because you can't feel anything doesn't mean you shouldn't take care of you tattoo, got it?” 

Noiz salutes her. “Yes, ma'am.”

She nods and pats him on the back as he gets up. “See ya, kid.” 

He waves as he walks out of the tattoo parlor. 

“Oh, Noiz! I heard the needle, did you finally get a tattoo?” Aoba asks as he walks past the bar. 

He nods. “Yeah.” He holds up his arm and lets out a small Aoba gasp. 

“Noiz, is that...?” 

Noiz smiles. 

“Mizuki would be so happy if he saw that.” He pauses for a second, before laughing. “Well, maybe in a couple years, he would be happy. He would be angry because you're only nineteen.” 

“Mm, so I've been told.” 

Aoba's tone turns serious as he looks at Noiz's tattoo. “Hey, take care of it, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I already got a stern talking to from Robin.”

Aoba leans his head on his hand. “Good. Take care of yourself too, okay?”

Noiz sighs. “I got it, mom.”

Aoba smiles. “See you soon.” 

“Yeah.” 

He walks out of the Black Needle and decides to walk back to Dry Juice's headquarters to show off his new tattoo. He tries his best not to cry along with the team when they start crying over the meaning and sentiment behind the tattoo.

He fails miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know, i have to be honest with you all, when i had first started writing this fic i originally planned to have Mizuki bitten, have Koujaku kill himself, and have Clear be permanently damaged (which i guess kinda happened because his skin still wont heal properly??) but for some reason i only really went through with one of those things
> 
> maybe i just like writing Mizuki in pain?
> 
> oh well, thanks again for reading!


	10. Extra: Bad Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay now this chapter is the actual very last one for this fic!!
> 
> its just a short little extra that i couldnt really find a place for in the actual story 
> 
> enjoy!

He's awoken from his dreamless sleep with a sudden start, body sticking straight up off the rumpled black sheets of the bed. His vision is blurred by the wetness in his eyes, and he blinks a few times to dry out the unshed tears. 

He body's temperature is growing hotter and hotter by the second and the air around him is humid and thick enough to cut through with a knife.

He kicks off the thin sheets and comforter wrapped around his sweating body and looks around the room. He spots movement coming from the corner of his vision and he turns his head, coming face to with light green eyes and shaggy, burgundy hair. 

The man smiles at him from his seated position on the other side of the bed. 

“Noiz, you alright? I've been waiting for you to wake up, but not like this.” His eyes soften and he puts a hand on Noiz's thigh. “Bad dream?” 

Noiz quickly shies away from the soft and caring touch, standing up off the bed. He stares at the man in front of him. “M-Mizuki?” 

Mizuki gives him a thumbs up. “The one and only.” He pauses, eyes looking up at the ceiling in thought. “Well, maybe not the only one? There's probably a few others-.” 

“But I thought you were dead.” Noiz whispers in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. He lets out an uneven breath and Mizuki stares at him.

Mizuki tilts his head to the side. “Noiz, are you alright?” He lets out a small, nervous laugh. “Still sleeping?” 

“Y-you died. We were attacked by a horde, and-and you got bit!” His breathing is coming out in short, sharp pants now and he feels like he might throw up or pass out. He hopes not at the same time.

Mizuki blinks, staring at Noiz like he has two heads. “A horde? Noiz, what are you talking about? Do you have a fever?” He gets up off the bed and walks over to Noiz, putting the back of his hand to Noiz's forehead. 

Noiz slaps his hand away and pushes Mizuki away from him.

“Y-you shouldn't be here right now.” Noiz whispers pathetically. 

Mizuki jabs a thumb at the door behind him. “I-I can leave...?” 

“I let you die!” Noiz crumbles to his knees, his hands clutching at his hair. “I couldn't even save you.” He lets out a sob.

Mizuki kneels down and pulls Noiz into a tight hug. This time Noiz doesn't move to pull away from the touch. 

They both sit there like that on the floor, Noiz sobbing into Mizuki's chest, and Mizuki whispering, “It's fine, you're alright now.” into Noiz's hair. Mizuki doesn't shush him or tell him to calm down, he just sits there and lets Noiz cry out his fears and frustrations, and tells him everything is okay now. 

Mizuki presses a kiss to the top of Noiz's head and when Noiz lifts his head to look at him, Mizuki smiles. 

“Now, I don't know exactly what happened in your dream, but I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Know how I'm so confident in that?” 

Noiz shrugs. 

“Because, I'm right here with you. No matter what.” 

Noiz sniffles and Mizuki's smile widens. 

“You're alive.” Noiz presses a hand to Mizuki's chest, feeling for his heart beat to prove that this really is Mizuki sitting in front of him, and that he really is alive. 

Mizuki gently grabs the hand that's placed over his heart and pulls it up to his mouth, kissing it sweetly. He nods at Noiz. “I'm alive.”

Noiz smiles and Mizuki presses another kiss to his forehead. 

That's when his mind and body decided to jolt awake again. 

He lifts his head and takes in his surroundings; skulls, black and purple, terrible decor choices. He's eyes widen, he's at the Black Needle. He's sitting at the bar and Aoba is staring down at him. 

“You're finally awake, huh? You're lucky we're friends or I would've chucked you out. It's past closing time and you should be-.” 

Tears starts to stream down his face and Aoba almost drops the glass he's drying. 

“Noiz?!” 

Noiz rubs his eyes. 

“He was alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay literally how could i not do a dream sequence? 
> 
> i had to im sorry it fit so well with them


End file.
